So, this is an odd one. In detailing Brooklyn Nets part-owner Jay-Z's influence on the team he has a financial stake in; the New York Times dropped a strange little bombshell that we can't quite get over. Does the NBA prefer to eschew black uniforms because it thinks its African-American players (who make up nearly three-quarters of the league) look bad in black on TV? One source, acting as the go-between in the middle of the Nets (who are wearing black and white uniforms in their first season in Brooklyn) and the league thinks so. From the Times : "[Jay-Z] helped design the team logos and choose the team's stark black-and-white color scheme, and personally appealed to National Basketball Association officials to drop their objections to it (the N.B.A., according to a person with knowledge of the discussion, thought that African-American athletes did not look good on TV in black, an assertion that a league spokesman adamantly denied). He counseled arena executives on what kind of music to play during games. ("Less Jersey," he urged, pushing niche artists like Santigold over old favorites like Bon Jovi.)"
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