Jeremy: Dress Code Marketing

Piggy-backing on Jeff's post about the new NBA player's dress code, this issue is certainly on the forefront of basketball fans everywhere. And Jeff is absolutely right, there's no reason to believe this isn't going to work and it's not going to be enforced.
We know that David Stern knows two things at least. First, he knows how to run a business, and the NBA is definitely a business. Some might be quick to argue that, no, the NBA is not a business, it's a game, and the players should not be forced to dress as if they were part of a business. The truth is basketball is a game, but the NBA is a business, and that is a very important distinction to make.
Second, Stern knows, as the leader of this business, he's got a monopoly on the professional basketball market. The reason that he can enforce his new dress code rule, and go to any lengths he needs to in order to uphold it, is because he knows that the players won't leave for another league. True, there are other professional basketball leagues around the world, but none of them come anywhere near the NBA as far as talent, competition, exposure, and, most importantly to the players, (and to why Stern is safe in upholding his new rule) money.
I wrote a very similar opinion when talking about age minimums, but this isn't about choice, it isn't about singling players out, and it isn't even necessarily about making the players look good. This is about David Stern protecting the product that he is putting before the buying public. He knows that his league's players have the worst reputation of the players in the other professional sports. This is his attempt to help present his product as more professional and more approachable by the common fan.
Whether I like it, you like it, or the players like it, or not, David Stern has every right to do this, and from a business standpoint, it's an incredibly shrewd, but smart move.