Sports Illustrated

Sports Illustrated

I’m no stranger to tattoos, I have a dozen of them myself, but I learned some restraint. I realized the chances of me making millions of dollars are slim to none, so I can’t just go all Dennis Rodman and become the illustrated man. I got my first two at 15 and didn’t get anything that a long-sleeved shirt can’t cover. However, I watched basketball yesterday; I found myself hoping that some of these brothers are saving their money and never have to work a day in their lives. There are some cats out there covered in enough tattoos to make it look like they’re rocking a long-sleeved shirt! Tattoos on the neck, behind the ear, the throat, who does that?

Dennis Rodman can be credited as a trendsetter here, but a nod has to go to Allen Iverson for giving it the street cred (I hate that term). It was Iverson that inspired the bulldog that sits on my right shoulder, but The Worm that first put the idea of tattoos in my head. Where Rodman left off, Iverson took over, upping the ante of his “The Answer” bulldog and seemingly going on a mission to completely cover his body in ink. NBA players have not let go and it has apparently become a rite of passage to the NBA fraternity as it seems as if every player has one, not all of the White guys are participatory though, they choose to the time to work on things like their jump shot.

What’s troubling is that this spills over into society, I have students walking around with tattoos on their necks like they’re never going to have to work a day in their lives. DeShawn Stevenson is making a few million bucks a year, if he manages the duckets right, he’s straight. I look at my students and think to myself, you’re failing remedial English and want to be a nurse; I don’t want anyone taking my blood pressure with “Tyquan” scrawled across their neck. Kenyon Martin of the Denver Nuggets has the lips of his rapper girlfriend Trina tatted on his neck. What kind of sucker for love is he? You don’t think Lil’ Wayne, Trick Daddy or that Nigga with all of that cocaine flowing through Little Haiti was in love with her too? I guess what they have is that fairy tale type of love.

The newest trend is throat tattoos. How high or drunk do you have to be to get a tattoo on your throat? DeShawn Stevenson has by far the dumbest tattoo ever, Abraham Lincoln situated on his throat. J.R. Smith of the Nuggets is running neck and neck, indelibly connecting himself with Lil’ Wayne’s Young Money record label and crew, seriously, are you gonna be that cool with Wayne for the rest of your life?

As I’ve gotten older, there are a few of my tattoos that I’ve wanted to change, cover, alter or remove, but they tell a story for me. I’m not sure if folk’s tattoos are telling story or just whatever was going through their minds at the time, the tale of they should’ve never gave you Niggas money!