I’ve been watching the NBA playoffs a lot more than I usually do this year. Normally, I watch until the Heat get elminated from the playoffs. That meant that last year I didn’t even watch the playoffs. Sure I watched just enough to see the Celtics beat the Lakers (the two teams I grew up hating the most, since I was a Sixer fan most of my life), glad to see that Kobe wasn’t going to win without Shaq (sorry Kobe fans but I can’t stand the guy), but other than that I didn’t watch much. This year I decided that i wanted to see some of the best talent in the NBA and not just my hometown guys. I must say that i am impressed with the talent and in particular the great games in both Conference Finals. There’s been some exciting basketball. But it’s something else that has really grabbed my attention and I just can’t seem to separate it from the games I am watching… the number of tattoos that the majority of these guys are wearing.
Now maybe I’m old fashioned, but I just don’t get the whole tattoo thing. Honestly one simple tattoo doesn’t bother me too much, but why would anybody want to ink up 30 or 40% of their body? And I know that one shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, but let’s face it most of us don’t read books whose covers don’t “speak” to us, so the tattoos make an impression on me that I can’t overcome sometimes. And growing up, tattoos always said one thing to me about a person… thug. I rarely met someone all tattooed up that was very outgoing or caring. These people were usually mean-spirited or drugged out (I am generalizing, of course).Â
Now times have changed. I am aware of that. But the truth is that most people I come across wearing so many tattoos are trying to make a statement. “Look at me” is screaming from their entire bodies. Why else would somebody tattoo their neck, an entire arm, every last inch of their back. Why? Do they not like the color of their skin and therefore must cover it up? Do they want to take attention away from a face they have trouble looking at when they look in the mirror? Do they have trouble drawing so therefore they have somebody else draw on them? Maybe there was not enough room on the refrigerator for their art so they had somebody transport it onto their bodies for the world to see. Portable fridge pics!
So here I am watching the NBA playoffs and it seems that the most recognizable players all have multiple tattoos. I mean all over their bodies. And these are the guys receiving the most air time! I watched the Laker/Nuggets game and three of the Nuggets on the court have their entire arms and parts of their chests and necks all tattooed up. J.R. Smith, Kenyon Martin, Chris “the Bird” Andersen, are ALL TATTOOS. And this doesn’t include their superstar, the guy getting the most air time off all. Carmelo Anthony, known as ‘Melo to his fans is ALL tattoos. Every time he gets the ball, tries to dribble past somebody, takes a shot, or tries to poke the ball from somebody, I can’t help but notice the 10 different colors on his arms. And these other guys? Smith has writing on his chest… a poem, his favorite saying, his mother’s name? I don’t know but that goes along with the rest of his tattooed frame. Martin has lips tattooed on his next. LIPS. He’s either a Stones fan, or likes having a permanent hicky by his head. And Andersen, the Birdman, has wings tatooed on his arms. I’m not sure which came first, the tattos or the nickname, (though I’m sure if I cared enough I could find out) .Â
The Lakers weren’t as “inky”, but their star has his own tattoo, a rather large shield-like drawing on his right arm. Truth be told it doesn’t bother me so much, but I think it’s only because he seems to be a bit more reserved about how painted up he is. But many of his teammates share the ink craze too.Â
Go to the other series (Cavs/Magic) and what one sees is that probably the most recognized face of the NBA right now and the crowned King of the sport (done so by the media first 8 years ago, then by the fans, then by commissioner of the NBA himself) is all tattoos himself! Lebron James’ arms are two shades darker than the rest of his skin because they are all covered in permanent ink! This is who all the kids watching the NBA now look up to. And what he seems to be advertising without getting compensated for is body ink. Man, in this tough economy, I am pretty sure that those owning tattoo parlors are probably doing pretty well!! Free advertising will go a long way, let me tell you.
The truth is that James seems to be a good guy. You listen to him speak, and he seems pretty well spoken especially considering that he never set foot in a college classroom. He doesn’t appear dumb, and I do believe you have to be pretty intelligent to play the game the way he does, talent aside (and no doubt the man IS TALENTED). Playmakers are like chess players on the court, trying to outsmart their opponents, and the majority of the best ones were always easy to listen to in post game interviews. James is no different. Except, he’s all inked up.
Now, I don’t think that it’s a coincidence that most of the guys I have brought up have had run-ins with the law. Andersen was suspended by the NBA for breaking the drug policy. Bryant was arrested for alledgedly raping a Colorado girl. Anthony has been followed by trouble from high school through his lone year in Syracuse, to his first few years in the NBA. Only lately has he seemed to mature. Another inked superstar, Allen Iverson, is the posterboy for the troubled NBA star, his entire career followed by questions, not about his talent, but about his attitude, poor decision making off the court, and the guys he hangs out with. And he’s telling kids that practice is not important! (Youtube it if you haven’t see it. It’s really funny).
James has steered clear of trouble, though he did have the incident concerning the car his mom received while he was still playing at his prep school. We can’t really blame it on him. But the fact that he’s such a good guy from what we can see, almost justifies for some the whole idea that tattoos are a good thing. ” ‘Bron is wearing them, why can’t I?” It makes it more difficult for me as a teacher and as a parent to teach that although the outside shouldn’t be what people judge you by, it will definitely play a part on the image you create for yourself. But telling kids this will not change their minds unfortunately.
The biggest problem I see with ink is its permanence. Yes, I know you can remove them now, but at the cost of more money, some pain, and in truth some residuals. Most people aren’t going to go out of their way to undo a tattoo. But what if one day you wake up and don’t want the tattoo any more? Or what if you suddely realize that the tattoo you had made no longer speaks of who you are? For the most part you are stuck with it. Unnecessairly!Â
That’s why I’m happy to have at least some players who still exhibit the old school mentality that they don’t need to draw extra attention to themselves. Players like Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul are ink-free, and they play the game right, and are the types of players that I would like to see my kids and the kids I coach to emulate. And in the playoffs that are going on now, I point to Dwight Howard. He dominates and is a fierce competitor, but doesn’t have to paint himself up to be noticed. He lets the talent do the talking. Are these guys perfect role models? No, not at all. Wade just went through an ugly divorce, and Howard was accused of undermining his coach for saying he doesn’t get the ball enough. But their humanity is not coupled up with the “beastly” appearance of being scarily painted (some of these guys really do look scary).Â
And looking back, none of the legends needed tattoos. Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Charles Barkley, Akeem Olojuwan, Kareem Abdul Jabbar… all tattoo free! And probably the greatest player of all time, Michael Jordan? I don’t remember seeing any tattoos on the guy. If he had any they were not very obvious. The only thing that called attention to him is that he couldn’t be stopped.
If one wants to find justification in what I say, we just need to look back a couple of weeks at the run-in between Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and Kenyon Martin’s mother, where after hearing a fan call the Nuggets thugs, he turned to this player’s mom and told her that his son was a thug too. Now, I don’t know, but I’ve been told that this is actually a pretty good guy, one with giant lips on his neck. I’m pretty sure that his appearance had something to do with that exchange, though. It’s not like the Mavericks are not inked up themselves, but in comparison, their appearance is that of a blank word document, as opposed to one that my 2 year old opened and just started typing gibberish on (awuiefyawbfcuiqgfqb3fiuaywdivhiu ajkhquirbgu…  you get the point). He was off base especially with who he was addressing (the guy’s mother, for God’s sake), but let’s face it he wasn’t alone in his thoughts, and Martin may have contributed indirectly to being called a “thug”.
Now, I’m not here to pass judgment.  I don’t think that a tattoo makes anybody a better or a worse person. Some tattoos are just personal expressions that are only for the person to have and hide or to share with a loved one (again something I don’t see myself doing, but something I can understand). And I really don’t know the hearts of any of these men I’ve talked about. They may one day all be sitting up in heaven, right there with me (I’m hoping) all of us laughing at this silly little blog I wrote. God knows I don’t think them any more or less flawed than I am. I just don’t think that wearing your heart on your sleeve should be done so literally. Let your actions speak daily, not the poem you chose to wear on your midback. Tattoos really are unnecessary. I would like to see them one day go by the wayside. Just my opinion.Â
And if I want lips on my neck, I’ll make sure I let my wife know. I’m sure she’ll oblige.