Polish-born reserve center Marin Gortat is expected to get even more playing time as the NBA Finals continue, being tasked with the difficult task of trying to stop Lamar Odom, but with the added playing time comes a larger lens focusing on him, something his sponsors at Reebok are a bit concerned about. Gortat, you see, has a tattoo on his calf, and the cameras seem to find it fairly regularly; unfortunately for Reebok, it’s a tattoo of Michael Jordan’s Nike logo. Last weekend Gortat received a phone call from someone at Reebok asking him to either wear his socks up higher or put makeup on the tattoo so that it wouldn’t be seen on television.
“They called and said I had to do something about it, but that ain’t going to happen. I’ve been wearing it 4-5 years now, and it helped me get to the NBA,” said Gortat. “They didn’t say anything about it when I signed the contract, so it’s not going anywhere. I don’t think they are paying me enough to take it off.”
Considering that he’s a semi-scrubby backup center, it’s doubtful that his deal with Reebok provides much in the way of spending money, so there probably isn’t much financial incentive there for him.
“I’ve heard from other people that even other players, if they don’t know my name, they know I’m the big white guy with the Jordan tattoo,” Gortat said. “I like that. Reebok will have to get used to that.”
Now, me, I’d like to be known for my play on the court, but sure, being known for a tattoo works too…
Meanwhile, Nike must be loving this, they get free publicity and they don’t even need to toss any free sneakers at Gortat. Win-Win.
[Fanhouse]
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