Tattoos has been around about as long as the Olympics, or maybe even longer, but they have been seen as rather conventional in professional sports, till now. Almost ever sport has now athletes with tattoos, and we have hand picked the best of the best, both in sports and artwork.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
Zlatan’s tattoos moved Nike designers so much that they created a jacket based on the body art. The Swedish superstar confessed in his book ‘I am Zlatan’ that getting inked “became like a drug for me”. He also has a tattoo that reads; “Only God can judge me”. Of this tat, Zlatan said: “They could write whatever they wanted in the papers. Scream anything at all from the stands. They still couldn’t get at me. Only God could judge me! I liked that.”
Mike Tyson
Mike Tyson’s intimidating face tattoo was the source of a lawsuit involving the producers of Hangover 2 and the tattoo artist who claimed he didn’t give the former rights to use it on actor Ed Helms in the movie.
Ronda Rousey
Women’s UFC star Ronda Rousey, a former Olympic judo medalist, has a tiny tattoo of Olympic rings, probably to commemorate her bronze win at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Natasha Kai
Soccer player Natasha Kai has one of the most extensive tattoo spreads in pro sports: both sleeves, down her torso, and markings on both legs.
David Beckham
Some of Beck’s notable ink includes Hindi characters spelling out “Victoria”, his wife’s name, on his left arm and his right arm bears flames and the phrase “Let them hate as long as they fear.”
Shaquille O’Neal
While Shaq may not seem to have all that much ink, you have to remember, there is a whole lot of canvas there. Quote from Shaq regarding his tats: “First of all, I got my tattoos because I was allowed to get them. You better believe I asked my mom first. And she told me I could get the tattoos, but I had to keep it corporate. See, she thought that when I was done playing ball, no one would give me a job if I was covered with tattoos.”
LeBron James
The legendary basketball player has large banners across top of back, multiple arm and shoulder tattoos, word tattooed on each leg.
Anastasia Davydova
Russian Olympic synchronized swimmer Anastasia Davydova has a trail of butterflies tattooed across her back.
Dennis Rodman
Basket player and pro wrestler Dennis Rodman and his tattoos became so iconic that when an apparel company produced a T-shirt with the likenesses of Rodman’s tattoos in their correct anatomical positions, the basketball star filed a court injunction.
And won.