Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball got some new ink, but unless you follow him on social media or know him in real life outside of the NBA, you will not be seeing it on the court.
Ball has a tattoo of the initials “LF” below his left ear — and the NBA is reportedly forcing him to cover it up.
The initials are short for “LaFrance,” which is Ball’s middle name, but is also the name of his clothing brand. The league has a rule that players must not have commercial logos visible on their bodies.
“Per the [collective bargaining agreement], players are prohibited from displaying commercial logos or corporate insignia on their body or in their hair during games,” NBA spokesperson Tim Frank said in a statement. “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 covered up his “LF” tattoo prior to Tuesday’s game against the Heat and will do so again on Friday night as well.
Ball and the NBA have spoken over the last several weeks about the tattoo so to avoid being fined, he agreed to cover it up during games.
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The NBA once forced Lonzo Ball to cover up the family’s “Big Baller Brand” logo that he had inked on him in 2018 when he was with the Los Angeles Lakers.
So far this year, Ball is averaging 22.2 points and 8.6 assists in his 10 contests this season.
