Thoughts From The Bench - A Sunday Evening Diatribe

Dying Ink: When Will the Tattoo Phenomenon Fade?

Having invested nearly every waking moment this past weekend to the NCAA tournament, one minor detail became somewhat noticeable: a new wave of talented young phenoms weren't sporting arms covered in random and erroneous tattoos.  Some of the top young players, to include Arizona's Derrick Williams, Duke's Kyrie Irving, Kentucky's Terrence Jones and Brandon Knight, UNC's Harrison Barnes and UConn's Kemba Walker weren't covered from neck to knuckle in random Chinese symbols, cartoon characters or misspelled words.  Having witnessed the majority of athletes over the last decade brand themselves for whatever reason, I wondered if the fad of using tattoos to showcase the trials and tribulations of ones life before the age of 18 was starting to fade away, and if not, when this trend might become less popular.

During ESPN Films recent documentary, "The Fab 5", Jalen Rose mentioned he and his teammates created a level of shock against the establishment with their swagger, style of play, uniforms, and even referred to the tattoo he had at the time added to their rebellious images.  That said, the tattoo Rose had during his playing days at Michigan wasn't even noticeable, even in a basketball jersey.  Looking even closer, one could notice there wasn't a single noticeable tattoo on the arms, legs or necks on the five famous teammates.  Even the other teams that will forever be known for their swagger and anti-establish-mental manners, the Miami Hurricanes football teams of the 1980's and the UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball program of the early 1990's didn't sport noticeable tattoos, yet were comprised of kids from the same rough urban areas that today's stars emerge from with arms covered in artwork.  Tattoos simply weren't popular back in the 1980's and early 1990's. 

When did this phenomenon start?  Who started it?  Although other random athletics have sported tattoos here and there throughout the last 30-40 years, it wasn't until Dennis Rodman took the practice to a whole new level in the mid 1990's.  Rodman became a different person, at least on the outside, when he left the Detroit Pistons for the San Antonio Spurs in 1993.  No longer under the tutelage of Chuck Daly nor playing alongside The Bad Boys in Detroit, Rodman started expressing himself more once in San Antonio.  The tattoos and the multi-colored hair with eccentric designs started appearing.  When Sports Illustrated ran a cover image of Rodman in 1995, an athlete slightly covered in tattoos first made it into America's living rooms and coffee tables.  That was our first taste of what was about to emerge from within the sporting community. 

Whether it was because Rodman was such an outcast or most athletes didn't want to be in the minority demographic with tattoos on their arms and legs that might hinder their chances of making more money in the endorsement world, few athletes followed Rodman's lead.  The widespread popularity of tattoos took off more so due to Allen Iverson than Dennis Rodman.  Iverson showed up to John Thompson's squad at Georgetown University in 1994 with just one tattoo on his left arm.  Having served time in jail during high school due to his actions in a bowling alley brawl in his hometown of Hampton, Virginia, Iverson was a tough kid from a rough background, but the disciplined Thompson kept Iverson on the straight and narrow during his time in a Hoyas jersey.  Once A.I. left Georgetown early for the NBA, only the second Georgetown player at the time to ever do so under Thompson, he started expressing himself more in the pros.  As an All-Star with the Philadelphia 76ers, Iverson grew the cornrows and covered his arms in tattoos.  Once again, it was a Sports Illustrated cover in 2001 that truly pushed the tattoo culture over the tipping point.  An entire generation of young athletes saw in Iverson a successful athlete that was the face of the league yet didn't play into anyones agenda or perceived image.

Since that Sports Illustrated cover in 2001, tattoos have almost become as expected as the player's actual uniform itself.  By the time a top recruit even shows up on campus as an 18 year old freshman, they're typically already covered in tats.  At first it was just predominately the inner-city kids that connected with an athlete like Iverson.  Then it spread to nearly every demographic.   White kids from the country got inked up.  Kids at exclusive programs were covered as well.  All of a sudden, a player like Carlos Boozer, who was born and raised in Alaska, was sporting tats in a Duke uniform.  If you wanted to either just fit in, had a desire to let people know about your past via arm ink, or simply improve your urban street cred, you had to get some art on your arms, legs, neck, or where ever else one could showcase a tattoo.

Kobe Bryant was raised in Italy by a professional basketball player.  He speaks three languages fluently.  He attended a nationally ranked high school on the outskirts of Philadelphia.  His decision to skip college ball and head directly into the NBA had nothing to do with his financial situation but rather his confidence and competitiveness.  He's stated he reads the Wall Street Journal on a daily basis.  Kobe was perfect for David Stern and his marketing team.  Sprite and Adidas jumped all over the smiling and educated Bryant, who at the time didn't have any tattoos.  Then in the summer of 2003 Kobe was accused of sexual assault.  The court case completely altered America's view of Kobe.  He lost his clean reputation as well as his endorsements.  Kobe was no longer Kobe.  He was now thrown in the same stereotype as so many other professional basketball players, most of whom grew up in a much different background than that of Bryant.  How did the allegations change Kobe and how he saw himself?  He came back with tattoos. 

The tattoo phenomenon has also shined an even brighter light on how ignorant some professional athletes really are.  Feeling the need to fit in within their sporting community, some athletes have ink they might regret just as much as their recent fumble, error or missed free-throw.  Jets running back Ladainian Tomlinson has the misspelled word on "Insperation" tattooed to on his arm.  Stephon Marbury tattooed his jersey number to his actual skull.  Shawn Marion tried to get his nickname of "The Matrix" tattooed to his leg in Chinese symbols.  Unfortunately for Marion, supposedly his tattoo actually translates to "Demon Bird Mothballs."  Stephen Jackson went the religious route with hands clasped in prayer, but they just happen to be holding a gun too. LeBron has the Akron area code of 3-3-0 tattooed on one arm and the word "Loyalty" tattooed on his rib cage.  Go ahead and ask the Cavs fans in the Akron/Cleveland area what they think of LeBron's loyalty.

Considering Dennis Rodman started this revolution back in the mid-1990's, we're riding about 15 years of tattoos being the most popular thing for athletes to do behind crashing on motorcycles their contracts forbid them from riding and creating unaccounted for offspring.  How much longer will it continue?  No telling.  Maybe the few star athletes that haven't partaken, such as Dwight Howard, Tim Tebow, Jason Heyward, and those aforementioned college basketball studs are starting the newest fad; making it cool to not cover yourself in egotistical ink.  Then we can all move on to just hoping basketball players stop doing this everytime they make a 3-pointer.