LaMelo Ball forced to cover up new neck tattoo with Charlotte Hornets star violating strict NBA league rules
CHARLOTTE Hornets star LaMelo Ball has a neck tattoo that the NBA is requiring him to cover up.
The 22-year-old All-Star guard got his middle name initials "LF" tattooed on his body in September, but it violates NBA league policy.
Ball's middle is LaFrance, which is also the name of the lifestyle fashion brand he launched in 2020.
However, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, based on the NBA rule about promoting commercial brands through tattoos, Ball will have to hide it during games.
Ball and the NBA have been in discussion for weeks about a solution, and NBA spokesman Tim Frank said in a statement to ESPN this week:
"Players are prohibited from displaying commercial logos or corporate insignia on their body or in their hair during games.
read more NBA
"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," Frank said in the statement.
Ball covered the tattoo before the Hornets' 111–105 loss to the Miami Heat on Tuesday and against their 130-99 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.
He is expected to continue covering the tattoo moving forward to avoid fines but will fight the ruling per reports arguing that the league inconsistently enforces this law.
Most read in Sport
This is not the first time the Ball family has had to battle with the NBA's front office.
The eldest Ball brother, Lonzo, went through a similar situation in 2018 when he had to cover a "Big Baller Brand" tattoo.
Lonzo eventually resolved the issue by replacing the "Big Baller Brand" logo with a new tattoo of a pair of dice.
The Hornets have started the season off slow with a 3-8 record despite Ball's strong play, averaging 22.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, and a career-high 8.6 assists per game through 11 games.
