Japan - Ubiquitous ink spreads into the KBL

From joongangdaily.joins.com
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Athletes sporting tattoos is a common sight. From David Beckham to basketball players such as Shaquille O’Neal, many sports figures have a significant amount of body art. The trend is growing common abroad, and seems to be also catching on in Korea. According to the LA Times, 75 percent of athletes in American professional leagues have tattoos.

It’s just as hard to find foreign players in the KBL without some ink on their skin. American Micah Brand of the KCC Egis has stated he has so many tattoos that he doesn’t even know exactly how many. Justin Allen, who played for the Dongbu Promy mentioned he got his first tattoo out of curiosity and that sparked the urge to get more.

The trendsetters in the NBA were Dennis Rodman and Allen Iverson. Rodman, who was known for his wild hair colors and rebounding skills, was the first to cover a large portion of his upper body with inked pictures. There weren’t as many players with tattoos in the NBA before Dennis the Menace and his bad boy image turned heads in the early 1990s. Then flashy point guard Allen Iverson came along and further popularized tattoos. The skilled guard and his countless tattoos garnered a lot of attention, and many others followed.

Now, tattoos are commonplace in professional sports. American football players are no exceptions when it comes to body art and basketball players, who wear sleeveless jerseys, like to cover their arms with unique designs.

Where Chinese characters were once popular among athletes, some players now are starting to sport messages written in Korean Hangul. Prince Fielder, first baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers and the son of former Major Leaguer Cecil Fielder, has a tattoo of the word prince in Korean on his neck.

While tattoos are still frowned upon in Korea, for athletes it a symbol of something personal or something they hold dear to their heart. Lamar Odom of the LA Lakers has a portrait of his dead son. KCC’s Brand’s favorite tattoo is an angel, which represents his daughter, on his back.

Another reason for getting inked seems to be for style. When all players have to wear the same uniforms, players with unique tattoos tend to stand out.

Tattoos are starting to gain popularity among Korean athletes as well. Kim Seung-hyun of the Daegu Orions is one player who is easy to distinguish. The guard got his first tattoo on his right shoulder - a dragon biting a flaming basketball - in 2004. He got another one of a centaur on his left shoulder two years ago. His most recent piece of body art is the Chinese character for victory.

Football player Ahn Jung-hwan is said to have a tattoo that says, “Hae-won love forever” inked on his body to show his love for his wife. SK Knights rookie center Kim Min-soo from Argentina got a tattoo prior to the start of this season.

“I got introduced to an artist by Kim Seung-hyun and got one at a discounted price. Doesn’t it look good?” asked Kim. SK’s Jung Seung-won, who is serving his mandatory military service at the moment, has a small tattoo. In the past, those with body art were kept out of the military but things have changed. Jung said that small tattoos are now seen as a fashion statement.

While there is a growing number of basketball players with tattoos in the KBL, female basketball players still avoid the ink.

“There aren’t any female players with tattoos that I know of. I think tattoos give off a bad impression; if one of my players ever got one, they’d be in a lot of trouble,” said one head coach of a female basketball team.

Kim Sa-ni, a female volleyball player for KT&G, is one of the few female athletes in Korea with tattoo.

“I got it out of curiosity and because I think it looks cool,” said Kim.