I read an article from the Seattle Times and came across an interesting tidbit....
"Before last season, each team presented a version of the same slide show. The first slide depicts rap mogul Jay-Z seated courtside in an oxford shirt, sweater and necktie. "I'm not a businessman," a caption on the slide show reads, "I'm a business, man." The slide show preaches the importance of image and the need to change the public perception of NBA players." (Source)
Who in the hell left the gate open?
Today, Sandra Rose, pointed out the discrepencies that are Shawn Carter's grill.
"They can spend money extravagantly on unnecessary things, but can't spend a couple of dollars to fix their teeth? No wonder Jay Z rarely smiles - and for that we are grateful."
"Not only can you see his crooked front tooth, but are those weed stains on his teeth? Wow, has Jay ever sat in a dentist's chair in his life?" - Sandra Rose
In spite of having more than enough money and making the Forbes list, Mr. Carter chooses not to take care of his teeth. And neither does Sean "Diddy" Combs. 50 Cent got shot in his mouth and has great teeth. Even Kanye has nice teeth.
I have no real point.
I read Sandra's blog and then read the article that mentioned Jay-Z on a NBA slide show about image.
And it made me laugh.
I thought about the NBA players I've seen over the years with bad teeth (Reggie Miller) and bad skin (Dennis Rodman) and it never was an issue.
And I noticed its because they are men.
If Beyonce was sporting Jay-Z's grill would he still be interested in sporting her on his arm?
Can a woman have acne and blemishes and still be considered sexy, like Diddy works so hard to perserve and maintain?
I noticed Alicia Keys has some acne problems, but she wears make-up so you would never know it.
Is Jay-Z really a good example of image?
All he really has is stylist.
Business-wise, he's overrated. (Rihanna and who else?, What's his percentage of the Nets, and does he really own the 40/40 Club?)
And he's 40.
Why tell 20 somethings to portray the image of a 40 year old man?
Do you know what Jay-Z was in his 20s?
Allegedly a drug dealer and but realistically a starving rapper.
There are better examples.
Diddy never sold drugs, why not show him instead?
And he really did start his own empire.
Maybe he was the next slide.
Then came Usher.
I guess Jay is more relatable to the players now, but I would never want to see my employer do a presentation on image and use Jay-Z as an example.
I don't get Jay-Z. Back in the old days he was just one of those rappers I vaguely heard about (I'm really not a fan of rap in general), so I figured he was just another guy who would be here today and gone tomorrow. Now all of a sudden he's everywhere and people act like he's some worldwide superstar. I guess I'm either more out of it than I thought I was or they're trying hard to make this guy into something more than he is.
At first I thought he was everywhere because of Beyonce, but its gone beyond that. He must have some top publicists with connections. Enjoyed your post. Double standards were funny.
Jay Z has been a superstar in terms of being a solo artist more than he is now,a few years back. guy has major bank, is one of the fastest workers in the biz, cranks out stuff regardless of whether working for himself or running the show for others. Back around the "black album" or whatever it was called, he was like the top selling rapper.
Why in the world do you use rappers as an example of how to be a business man? Couldn't they put up a slide of David Stern, and say, "What the NBA really wants to do is whiten you up some, so we don't totally lose our white audience and our livelihood." Telling gangsta-thug athletes that they need to act like another gantsta-thug who dresses better, is like telling ####s to act more like anarchists.
I don't know why Stern just doesn't come straight out with the players and tell them that the NBA statistically is losing viewers and fans because the average suburban white fan doesn't like the gangsta image of the NBA. It's not the black community that keeps the NBA profitable. How many people in the projects and #### can afford season tickets, or the cable tv packages for All-NBA Access? It doesn't matter what the players demand or want for their own personal image, it's about the whole business' survival. Until the players realize that there's more to business than just them, and until the league realizes it needs to stop ####-footing around race issues and player sensibilities, only then will the league recover from its image problems.
Wow, my very own blog on Fox Sports. I guess this is as close as I will get to the real thing. Who am I? A female that loves sports and wears the crown with pride. Age: 27, Hometown: Philly, My platform issue: Millionaire Safety, Career Ambition: To become NBA Commissioner, Talent: Common Sense, Sponsor: Nacirema Dream
Playing All -Time Favorites: NBA Player - Allen Iverson, NFL Player - Deion Sanders, Teams - Chicago Bulls, San Francisco 49ers, and New York Yankees. Current Crush: Gilbert Arenas
