Players, for example, will tell you that after about a half hour on the court, their feet will swell, sometimes up to a half size. This changes their comfort level significantly. So they have a choice: either play with their shoes too loose for 30 minutes or tighten them enough to be painful by halftime. Not with an adjustable shoe.
Comments
This is addressed somewhat in the article:
Why not just retie the shoelaces at halftime?
They probably do, but they're already painful by then.
So the safety argument isn't real then. It's a comfort argument.
Misadjusted shoes can cause injury, whether too loose or too tight. It's a safety issue.