How LaMelo Ball ‘Luckily’ Got Away With NBA’s Copyright Case Regarding ‘LaFrance’ Tattoo

LaMelo Ball is a tattoo enthusiast and his latest, covering his entire back, went viral on social media. However, one of his previous tattoos caused a massive controversy and he risked incurring fines for it from the NBA. The Charlotte Hornets star got ‘LF,’ which stands for LaFrance, tattooed on his neck. It was an homage to his middle name and also a marketing ploy to promote his brand of the same name. However, the tattoo violated a clause in the league’s collective bargain agreement, which states,

“A player may not, during an NBA game, display any name, trademark, logo or other commercial, promotional or charitable identification, including, but not limited to, on the body, hair or otherwise.” 

On the OGs podcast, lawyer Dan Morgan explained the controversy, saying,

“The NBA came in and said put a tape on the tape on [the LF tattoo]. They are not an official NBA sponsor. And what it boils down to is the CBA. It’s not like a law or a copyright law, it’s pretty much in the rules…” 

Ball was forced to play several games with tape covering the tattoo, but the NBA eventually gave in after the guard’s representatives argued that LaFrance was not only his middle name but also his uncle’s name. It took several weeks of back-and-forth conversations between the league and Ball’s representative to solve the issue. As Morgan put it,

“He fought it and there was an injunction, he went back-and-forth with them and he eventually did tape it up for a little bit, but in the long run, the NBA finally came in and said they weren’t going to prosecute and fine him anymore.”

The Hornets star’s tattoo fiasco became a massive talking point on social media, but he isn’t the first player to get in trouble for having a brand’s logo tattooed on their body.

J.R. Smith’s Supreme tattoo landed him in hot water

In 2018, the NBA informed J.R. Smith that they’d fine the then-Cleveland Cavaliers star if he played without covering the ‘Supreme’ logo on his right calf. The guard was incensed and complained about it on Instagram.

The league did not budge, and the guard was forced to play out the last three seasons of his career in compression tights. It was a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things and he probably wishes he had an excuse as fleshed out as LaMelo Ball’s, but he dealt with the situation and avoided fines.