I've got to stick my neck out here and say I sympathise with the guy. I haven't got the guts to wear tights either, and if I did, I think I'd feel too self-conscious to concentrate on my dancing. OK, so I'm a wuss.
However, I've found a compromise that my teacher seems happy with for the time being - we call them tracksters here in the UK; maybe they're the same over on your side of the pond. They're like sweatpants (if that's what tracksuit bottoms are called) except they're a bit closer fitting. The knees & hips show through just fine (a bit wrinkly maybe) but they leave a little more to the imagination around the crotch.
I think pros are allowed to wear sweats because it's assumed they'll know what they're doing with their knees/turnout by the time they reach that level. Beginners & improvers must wear something that lets the knees show clearly. Even I agree with that.
Please don't flame me for letting the side down - I'm just pointing out that some guys are more self-conscious than others: if I'd been ordered to turn up in the proper uniform from Day 1, I'd have quit then & there.
A.[/i]