LaMelo Ball had covered up the “LF” tattoo under his ear for the game against the Miami Heat on Tuesday night and made it clear afterward that the NBA was responsible for it. Now, insider Adrian Wojnarowski has shared why the league requires LaMelo to cover up the tattoo.
“The NBA is requiring LaMelo Ball to cover a tattoo below his left ear that the league insists violates rules against exposing commercial logos on players’ bodies – a policy that sources close to Ball contend has been infrequently enforced.”
ESPN story: The NBA is requiring LaMelo Ball to cover a tattoo below his left ear that the league insists violates rules against exposing commercial logos on players’ bodies – a policy that sources close to Ball contend has been infrequently enforced. https://t.co/l8ufVnnlW3
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 17, 2023
Here’s how the 22-year-old has been covering up the tattoo.
LaMelo Ball is now covering up his new "LF" tattoo.
The LF on his tattoo stands for LaFrancé, the name of Ball's clothing line. pic.twitter.com/x0BhRLqo7S
— The Sporting News (@sportingnews) November 15, 2023
LF stands for LaFrance, which is Ball’s middle name, as well as his clothing brand. The tattoo shows the brand’s logo, which violates the rules that were put in place in the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
The league noticed the tattoo during preseason and the two sides have been in constant communication over the subject. The Charlotte Hornets star covered up the tattoo in order to avoid a fine, and the two sides will continue to discuss short and long-term solutions on this matter.
To go with LaFrance being his middle name and his uncle’s name too, Ball and his representatives have stated that he has been using those initials long before it became a brand. They argued that several other players have had corporate logo tattoos for brands like Air Jordan in the past, but the league countered by stating they didn’t have corporate partnerships with the company.
This is actually the second time that a Ball family member has been asked to cover a tattoo. Back in 2018, the NBA had Lonzo Ball cover up his Big Baller Brand tattoo for the same reason. I’m sure LaVar Ball is going to have some strong words over the NBA’s ruling at some point.
LaMelo Ball Has Been Sued For $200 Million By BBB Co-Founder
It’s safe to say the last couple of weeks haven’t been all that pleasant for LaMelo. While he and his representatives have been dealing with his issue with the NBA, another has popped up thanks to Alan Foster, who cofounded BBB along with LaVar Ball.
In 2019, Foster was accused of stealing over $1 million from Lonzo and is no longer part of the brand. There’s clearly plenty of bad blood left over there and Foster has now sued the Ball family and PUMA for $200 million in damages.
“LaMelo was instrumental in creating his first signature shoe with Big Baller Brand,” Foster wrote, via TMZ. “He was fully aware of the existence of the LaMelo Trademarks — he helped design them! He knew that his Big Baller Brand signature shoe was called the ‘MB1’ and that the name was protected by a federal trademark. Yet, despite his knowledge of all of this, LaMelo willfully and deliberately chose to name the signature shoe he created and designed with PUMA the ‘MB1’ in violation of the LaMelo Trademarks.”
That’s a ridiculous amount and it will be interesting to see how this situation unfolds. You better believe the Ball family is going to try their hardest to ensure Foster doesn’t end up getting a penny.
LaMelo Ball’s 2023-24 Season Thus Far
While he deals with these issues behind the scenes, Ball has put together a solid 2023-24 campaign. Coming into the Hornets’ game against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday, he was averaging 22.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 8.6 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game.
Despite those numbers, the Hornets are off to yet another disappointing start, as the loss to the Bucks dropped them to 3-8 on the season. The return of the controversial Miles Bridges might help them turn things around, but I don’t see this team making too much noise in 2023-24.
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