All NBA players, or even regular people, love getting tattoos to express themselves or to promote businesses. LaMelo Ball got a tattoo under his left ear with the symbol “LF,” which he uses to promote his clothing brand and middle name, LaFrance. The NBA banned LaMelo from showing this tattoo because the league has a rule preventing players showing commercial logos. LaMelo wore a blue band-aid to cover his tattoo during a game against the Bucks.
Something similar happened to Ball’s brother, Lonzo Ball. Lonzo Ball had a tattoo of his father’s company “Big Baller Brand” and was seen with his arm wrapped to cover it and then got it re-done into red dice. Ball argued that players have tattoos of the Nike swoosh, Warner Bros. logos, Air Jordan logos, and more and still don’t have to cover it up. The NBA claims to ban “commercial” tattoos.
“I feel like they shouldn’t be able to dictate whatever you have on your body” Devin Sams, junior.
LaMelo Ball has also been seen wearing his tattoo out without a cover-up, we don’t really know what’s going on but it could be that some games are different than others.
In a statement to ESPN, NBA spokesman Tim Frank said: “Per the [collective bargaining agreement], players are prohibited from displaying commercial logos or corporate insignia on their body or in their hair during games. We try to enforce the rule reasonably, in accordance with its purpose, and taking into account players’ efforts to express themselves in a non-commercial manner. But LaMelo Ball’s neck tattoo is in obvious violation of the rule and, accordingly, he’s required to cover it.
Ball got drafted in 2020 by the Charlotte Hornets and created his brand then, the symbol stands for his middle name as well so it would be a fair argument to say that he shouldn’t have to cover it up. Who knows what will happen in the future but as of right now the NBA will continue to make Ball cover his tattoo up. When Michael Jordan collaborated with Nike and made his first shoe the “Air Jordan 1” he wore them to his games and was fined by the NBA every time he wore them, a similar thing could happen for Ball.
