Sex scandal, NBA whining could erase others' good

	Vikings owner Zygi Wilf will impose a code of conduct on his team after a well-publicized "sex" cruise during the team's bye week. AP

There's been a lot of talk of late about "codes." On Friday, Zygi Wilf, the Minnesota Vikings still-fresh owner, reamed out his woeful team over embarrassing reports of alleged sexual misconduct by some of his players aboard two yachts -- Avanti and Avant Garde -- during a cruise on Lake Minnetonka earlier this month. He announced the imposing of a new code of behavior that would demand "high standards, high morals and success," and would "set a higher standard than the NFL."

Wilf was still livid following the short talk to his team and remained so a bit later when he addressed the franchise's entire staff. The New Jersey real estate developer only purchased the team over the summer, and in the wake of ticket-gate (involving head coach Mike Tice) and an abysmal start to the team's post-Randy Moss era, the boat fiasco was enough to singe Wilf's mustache. "Lack of discipline," he said, "will no longer be tolerated at any level...I will hold everyone accountable for their own actions."

The other "code" in play is the much-discussed NBA dress code, which is expected to be imposed by David Stern later this week in a not-so-subtle effort to polish his league's image at a tenuous time for the sport.

In all likelihood, Stern will mandate that players wear business casual anywhere a television camera is likely to catch them, specifically entering and leaving the arena on game days and when they are on the bench in street clothes. He will not require them to wear a jacket and tie, as has been speculated. (Interestingly, some NBA teams, like the Knicks, already demand a tie for inactive players sitting on the bench during games.) The league will allow players to pretty much wear what they want on flights.

Essentially, Stern is saying something we've all either heard from our parents or have said to our kids: "You're NOT going outside like that!"

Word of the commissioner's impending missive prompted a bit of backlash from some the league's most sartorially challenged players, players not used to being told what to wear, players such as the otherwise saintly Tim Duncan. He told reporters in San Antonio that the new code would be "disappointing" and that "I don't wear shirts and ties."

Please, Tim. Such whining is beneath you. You're the kind of All-Everything guy we'd all like our daughters to marry, but if you show up at my house dressed like you often did when you were in street clothes on the bench during Spurs games (check out the picture that accompanied my colleague Phil Taylor's column on the subject last week), she ain't goin' nowhere!

The same goes for my favorite grunge-wearing MVP, Steve Nash, and many other players who seem to believe they are exempt from the workplace attire guidelines that you, I and everyone we know must adhere to -- from Wall Street to Wal-Mart. When I leave for work each day, I am well aware that I am representing not only myself but also Sports Illustrated. Call me old-school; it is how I was raised, and it's how I'm raising my kids.

It's not about how much money the players are earning. It's not even about race, as some have theorized, noting the code as "code" for an anti-hip hop movement and designed to revive red-state support for a decidedly blue-state league. (Besides, have you seen 50 Cent, Diddy, Eminem, Dr. Dre, Jay Z and other rap and hip-hop icons lately? They're all wearing suits!)

It's about being aware that it isn't always about you ... period.

That's the essence of Wilf's message, as well.