While tattoos have become more and more commonplace in society and in professional sports, Cleveland Cavaliers guard JR Smith took to Instagram to reveal that he’d be facing some pretty stiff discipline from the NBA for a recent piece of artwork he had tattooed on himself, and made it pretty clear that he is not at all impressed by the league’s decision. (Warning: caption contains language that is NSFW)
Smith has had the tattoo since August, when he debuted the piece on the back of his calf in a separate Instagram post.
Smith, who averaged 8.3 points per game last season, has always been a loyal fan of Supreme, and in December of last season, sported a sleeve adorned with the brand’s logo. He did this despite the league’s previous banning of a similar Supreme branded leg sleeve when it was worn by the Wizards’ Kelly Oubre, who was told to take it off at halftime when he wore it.
While rumours swirled that Smith was being financially compensated for the ink, he insisted to Complex soon after he got the tattoo, that the reasoning for it was personal.
"There was a lot behind it,” explained Smith, “People were like, 'Are they paying you for it?' and I was like, 'No,' so they were like, 'What are you doing it for?' And I was like, 'That's who I am. That's why I am who I am.' It worked out."
Since the backlash online, a league spokesman has stated that the "NBA rules prohibit players from displaying any commercial logos or corporate insignia on their body or in their hair”.
Amid the controversy, Twitter users have pitched some ideas for how Smith should handle the league’s decision.
The NBA has an exclusive deal with Nike, who is their oncourt apparel provider. Despite some notable collaborations between the brands, there is no affiliation between the two. The Cavs start their regular season on October 17th in Toronto, and it’ll be interesting to see whether or not the ink will be covered for the matchup.
