NBA legend Larry Bird has expressed unhappiness with an Indianapolis mural painted in his honor, which shows him covered in tattoos.
Larry Bird, does not have any tattoos.
After seeing the mural in the Fountain Square neighborhood of Indianapolis, Bird’s attorney issued a statement announcing his disapproval of the mural.
“Larry’s position is he has elevated himself from where he began to where he is now through a lot of hard work. He has developed a brand that is marketable and he needs to protect that brand,” Bird’s attorney Gary Sallee said. “The mural, as originally painted, was a departure from that brand.”
“The mural was painted by graffiti and street artist Jules Muck, per the report, who was simply tasked with painting something on the side of the building. She said that many people reached out suggesting she painted Bird, and then had the cover of a Sports Illustrated from 1977 with Bird on it sent to her — which is what sealed the deal,” Yahoo! Sports reported.
Sallee sought to make clear that Bird did not have a problem with tattoos in general.
“All of his friends and 98% of his players are tattooed. He doesn’t have any problem with tattoos,” Sallee explained. “He just doesn’t want to be seen as a tattooed guy.”
“The wall was actually one of my favorites,” Muck said, “because it was a great location and completely unspecified.”
Sallee believes that a compromise was struck between Muck and Bird on Tuesday, which would remove all the tattoos except for the word “Indiana” on his forearm.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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