J.R. Smith of the Cleveland Cavaliers is in trouble for an unusual reason. The Guard is facing several fines for a tattoo on his leg.
Smith announced on Saturday via Instagram that he had received mail from the league due to a tattoo with the lettering “SUPREME” in the style of a New York fashion label. “I was informed today that I would get a fine in every game where I didn’t cover the tattoo,” Smith wrote. He finished the post with a middle finger emoji.
The league has already responded to Smith’s post and made the following statement via ESPN: “The NBA rules prohibit players from displaying any company logo on their body or hair.”
Tattoos of this kind are rated as advertising, even if Smith himself asserts that he did not get any money for the tattoo. There have been such cases in the past: Iman Shumpert, for example, was ordered by the league to remove the Adidas sign from his hair in 2013, while Rasheed Wallace was also ordered to cover a tattoo in 2001.
However, there are also cases that are tolerated: Marcin Gortat, for example, has a Air Jordan “Jumpman” logo on his leg, Carmelo Anthony has the Warner Brothers logo on his shoulder and Kyrie Irving has a tattoo of the “Friends” sitcom logo on his forearm.