Hornets: Why LaMelo Ball didn't cover banned tattoo in injury return

Basketball culture and tattoos have gone hand in hand as of late. Many players, whether professional or amateur, have chosen to ink themselves for various reasons. Take Charlotte Hornets star LaMelo Ball for example. The point guard has a number of tattoos, but one of them recently made headlines for interesting reasons.

Back in November, NBA spokesman Tim Frank issued a statement on the league prohibiting players from exposing commercial logos on any part of their bodies.

“Per the collective bargaining agreement, players are prohibited from displaying commercial logos or corporate insignia on their body or in their hair during games,” Franks said, as per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. “We try to enforce the rule reasonably…but LaMelo Ball's neck tattoo is in obvious violation of the rule and, accordingly, he's required to cover it.”

The neck tattoo in question is Ball's “LF” tattoo, which symbolizes his middle name and his clothing brand, LaFrance. Prior to getting injured, Ball played with his neck covered up. However, in his return game against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, Ball's tattoo was fully exposed.

The NBA circles back on LaMelo Ball's tattoo before Hornets' Friday game

Apparently, the league had just circled back its ruling on Ball's tattoo, which now allows him to play cover-free in the neck area. A key argument made by Ball's camp was that several players in the past had tattoos of commercial brands on their bodies, despite having no affiliation or formal partnership with those said brands. Additionally, Ball also emphasized how “LF” represented his middle name even before he chose to open his clothing line.

Playing with a fully exposed neck tattoo, the returning Ball scored 28 points, dished out five assists and grabbed three rebounds against the Spurs on Friday. However, it was not enough as Charlotte couldn't get the best of San Antonio.

Moving forward, it may be best that NBA players settle for tattoos that don't resemble corporate logos. It surely wouldn't be that hard, considering the amount of possible designs a creative mind can come up with.