Let’s talk athletes wearing jewelry.
British motorsports driver Lewis Hamilton was told by the FIA (governing body of Formula 1 racing) that he could not wear jewelry in the cockpit during races. Diamond nose stud and earrings in hand, he complied as he faced being barred from events.
But that was in the privacy of his cockpit. What about the bling athletes wear in competition on the field? We see bling all the time in pro sports, and you don’t have to be Mr. T to wear flashy gold.
Last month, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Graham Ashcraft balked at the enforcement of an MLB rule after being told by umpires to remove his wedding ring from under his glove during a game against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield used to tape his wrists with adhesive tape. Before a game, I was watching him tape up and I asked him if he was doing that to strengthen his wrists. He said, “No, I do it to keep my bracelets from jingling and flopping around and to protect them.” I had no idea, but that jewelry was hidden from public view, and not all athletes hide it … now, they flaunt it.
George Scott was a true pioneer of bling. The Boomer wore a shell necklace back in the mid-1970s with Boston. When a writer asked him what the necklace was made of, Scott deadpanned, "Second basemen's teeth."
In 2001, in Seattle, with the sun setting, relief pitcher Arthur Rhodes was called in to relieve in 2-2 game. As he fired fast ball warm ups at 96 mph, the sun glistened off the diamond studs in the pitcher’s ears and batter Omar Vizquel complained, prompting the umpire to order a jewelry removal. Rhodes refused, saying he had been wearing them all year.
The Official Rules of Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball don’t specifically discourage jewelry, so professional athletes can wear chains and necklaces. Professional baseball players can wear a chain outside their jersey unless the baseball chain causes light reflection and interrupts the flow of the game.
Right now, the majority of baseball players wear some kind of neck jewelry during the games, and Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz helped usher in the new wave of obvious bling by breaking with tradition of wearing chains inside their uniforms by placing them in full view, outside their shirts.
Baseball jewelry may have started with athletes wearing crosses, and they have become larger and larger. Many players go for style, and many others are superstitious and wear “lucky” bling, so MLB generally allows players to express themselves on the field without an issue. Sometimes there are issues.
In 2018, Yoenis Cespedes (Mets) broke his necklace while sliding into second. As the game went on, umpires and players found diamonds in the infield and helped clean up the expensive mess.
Astros pitcher Lance McCullers Jr. lost his diamonds during the American League Championship against the New York Yankees when his black diamond necklace broke and he knelt down in the dirt looking for the broken pieces.
All-Star Joc Pederson (then with the Braves) wore a large pearl necklace, and it drew league-wide attention when he homered against the Mets in the postseason and as he rounded the bases, broadcasters and fans fixated on his jangling oyster beads.
Now, hundreds of diamond stars wear diamonds and gold on the field.
On the basketball court, Lamar Odom’s bowling ball-sized earrings increased NBA blingdom. Michael Jordan’s bling on the court was shoes and longer shorts, but he also wore a thick, tight gold chain while playing. Legends including Wilt Chamberlain and Dr. J (Julius Erving) wore chains in games, but it was Darryl “Chocolate Thunder” Dawkins who used to wear a few chains, with multiple charms hooked on that got the gold chain banned from games. No chains allowed in the NBA.
On the track, Michael Johnson wore thick gold chains, and Olympic hurdler Melaine Walker ran wearing huge earrings.
Chris Evert started a trend in tennis by wearing a diamond, silver and gold tennis necklace. At the U.S. Open in 2005, Serena Williams wore both a $40,000 pair of 13-carat platinum chandelier earrings and a bright diamond necklace. Rafael Nadal wears Richard Mille watches when he plays, and in 2019, his watch-bling cashed out at $725,000.
In football, controversial wide receiver Odell Beckham, Jr. wore a Mille watch on the field, and the timepiece retails at $190,000. According to NFL spokesman Michael Signora, there are no rules prohibiting jewelry – but the league policy does prohibit "hard objects." Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins wore Kanye West's Yeezy brand cleats, which was against NFL rules. He was fined $6000 – for wearing the $250 shoe. Moving up the anatomy, New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara has a diamond grille … tooth diamonds.
Golfer Bubba Watson has gone the Mille route. During the 2018 Masters, he wore the RM 38-01 watch, which retails for $825,000.
On the mats, Simone Biles, the most-decorated American gymnast, accents her floor routines with multiple piercings with diamond studs, including a diamond sternum piercing on her chest.
What are your thoughts? Bling or no bling? Uniform code of dress or individual style to the hilt? Let me know at mike.blake@mountvernonnews.com.
See you next time.
