Chris Gotti Claims David Stern Wanted to Meet Jay-Z Over Alleged Link to Declining Jersey Sales

Chris Gotti recalled the time when Jay-Z apparently ended the trend of wearing NBA throwback jerseys by himself.

During his appearance on The TFU Podcast, Gotti claimed he was sitting with Jay when they were made aware of then-NBA commissioner David Stern wanting to meet with the rapper. The producer determined that Stern found out about Jay allegedly being linked to an over 4,000 percent decline in NBA throwback sales after he implored people to “grow up” and start wearing button-up shirts.

“When we did the Hard Knock Life Tour, every jersey…throwback jersey from every city we was in. A throwback jersey of an NBA team. That’s what he wore,” he said. “If you go look at the tape, that’s what he wore. His next album was what? Grow up n***a. Put the button-up. Be a grown man. The button-up. No more throwbacks. Sales went down over 4,000 percent.”

On the song “What More Can I Say,” off 2003’s The Black Album, Jay-Z made his intentions clear, rapping, “And I don’t wear jerseys, I’m 30-plus/Give me a crisp pair of jeans, n***a, button-ups.”

“It’s just my growth. We just can’t stay in the same place with a bunch of numbers on our back,” Jay said in regards to those lyrics to Sway, who credited the rapper with being “instrumental in starting” the throwback jersey trend. “We gotta grow up, it’s time to grow up. You got to go in them offices and look presentable, get a couple checks.”

When stylist June Ambrose was asked about Jay’s “Change Clothes” era on Ebro in the Morning, Peter Rosenberg brought up how the rapper denouncing throwbacks caused sales for Mitchell & Ness to “fall off a cliff in that moment.”