NORMAN — After practice Wednesday, Oklahoma guard Tony Crocker changed clothes right there in the practice gym. He couldn’t use the locker room. Crocker, and the rest of the Sooner basketball team aren’t allowed in the locker room.
Instead, Crocker shed his generic black practice jersey and slipped on a gray Nike sweatshirt. His bright red shorts didn’t have the signature OU paper clip logo, instead sporting a silhouetted Michael Jordan in mid-flight.
Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel limited Crocker’s options after a 15-point loss to Gonzaga on New Year’s Eve.
"He’s taken the locker room away from us because we’re not playing like an Oklahoma team, so we don’t deserve to be in the Oklahoma locker room,” said sophomore guard Willie Warren.
During practice, players can’t wear any Oklahoma gear. Capel is no exception.
"If we could not wear it in games, I wouldn’t wear it in games,” Capel said.
The university’s contract with Nike requires team members to wear Nike products during all "university-sanctioned activities,” which includes practice and interviews with the media. A team spokesman admitted he was unaware of the contract’s demand, but the generic black jerseys, as well as the shorts and socks worn by the team during practice were manufactured by Nike, he said.
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