In a throwback authoritative-for-the-sake-of-being-authoritative move, the NBA will ban “ninja-style” headbands this season, according to league spokesman Mike Bass, which means that the Phoenix Suns’ ‘Karate Papi’ lives no more.
The kung-fu look gained popularity last season, popularized by stars like Jimmy Butler, DeAaron Fox, Karl-Anthony Towns, and Jrue Holiday, amongst others.
However, the NBA, “didn’t want to cause disruption midseason,” so they didn’t intervene.
The league claimed competition committee members raised safety concerns about the size, length, and looseness of the headbands, a statement no human being could take seriously.
Mike Scott, strong advocate of the Karate Kid look, claims the NBA deemed the headbands, “too unprofessional,” which seems like a much more feasible characteristic old farts would attribute to the mundane accessory.