At first it feels like a thousand little pinpricks. In the hazy atmosphere of the tattoo parlor, the sound of the needle’s bumble-bee motor brings to mind images of a visit to the dentist’s office gone wrong. The artist is focused solely on the task at hand, so he misses the bead of sweat that begins to form along the brow of his subject. Then, suddenly, it’s over. And the mark that remains is permanent. What felt like hellish acupuncture at first now feels like sunburn. And the fear felt beforehand becomes an adrenaline-infused sense of pride and excitement at the new tattoo.
Despite the pain and permanence of getting inked, tattoos have become a prominent piece of America’s culture. Hero worshiping teenagers and young adults dream about getting a tat like their favorite music artist or basketball star. In fact, according to an article published in the Los Angeles Times in 2008, nearly 75 percent of the athletes in the NBA have tattoos. But while this has led many hardwood hopefuls to get a tattoo just to be a part of the in crowd, for a few of the Cardinal basketball players, they got their ink for a different reason.
“All my tattoos have a meaning to them,” said senior guard Jerry Smith. “They are usually family related or God related. Sometimes I think that some people get tattoos just to get them, but I can definitely say that all of mine mean something and were well thought out.”
Smith isn’t alone in his reasoning for the ink-drenched art on his body. For other players though, tattoos have been just another part of who they are—a simpler way to define themselves and their beliefs.
“All my tattoos represent something very close to me,” said freshman point guard Peyton Siva. “On my wrist I got my brother and sister’s names. On my forearm I have ‘I can do all things through Christ Jesus who strengthens me.’ That’s Philippians 4:13. I have ‘faith’ on my arm. Mostly all my tattoos are biblical stuff and stuff that is dear to me, like my hometown of Seattle. I just get stuff that represents me. “
According to Adam Satori, owner of Seventh Circle Tattoo, located on Preston Highway, the majority of the tattoos he has done for members of the team have been based on religion.
“I don’t think it’s really a basketball or a team thing,” said Satori. “I think it was just how they were raised. Their moms raised them well.”
According to Satori, a group of the players wrote letters to their mothers, thanking them, which were then turned into tattoos. Players like senior point guard Edgar Sosa have been coming to Satori since they began getting tattoos.
“We gave Sosa his first tattoo,” said Satori. “He got it on his chest.”
Sosa can remember his first visit and the importance of the tattoo he received.
“It’s the one that I always wanted to get,” said Sosa. It says, ‘You can evaluate me. You can criticize me. But only God can judge me.’”
Players like Smith have also chosen to go with word play to make their body art truly theirs. He got his most recent tattoo only a few weeks ago—a spiritual message through a play on words.
“It’s ‘Know God, Know Pain,’” said Smith. It’s the different spellings. It’s like if you know God there will be no pain, but if you don’t know God you will know pain. When I heard it I was just like, ‘I have to get that somewhere,’ because I really liked it. And it makes sense. It’s true, you know. If you have faith in God you will have no pain.”
Despite the plethora of sports icons with ink, remnants of long-held negative stigma of tattoos remain in the culture today.
“Sometimes people portray tattoos as being a bad thing,” said Siva. “And with me, I don’t really care what other people think. If they see my tattoos, I will explain what they represent and why I got them.”
Smith takes the opinions of others in stride, as he ultimately knows what drives him to tattoo his body.
“People are going to stereotype regardless,” said Smith. “I’m not trying to discredit what they are saying. But, you know, if people are going to say what they are saying regardless, you can’t live your life off of the next person’s opinion.”
Despite the pain and stigmas associated with getting the tattoos, all three players admit that they are likely to get more tattoos. The needle will whir to life again and the thousands of tiny little pinpricks will leave their mark in permanency. As each new letter of another piece of scripture is inscribed into their skin, these players will continue to wear their family and their faith on a tattoo sleeve.
Ben Wilson contributed to this article.
Louisville Cardinal > Sections > News
Wearing family and faith on a tattoo sleeve
Published: Monday, February 8, 2010
Updated: Monday, February 8, 2010
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