Intimate Works Of Art
Tattoos are used as a form of self-expression and that is no different in the world of sports. The Reporter interviewed players from the men’s and women’s basketball teams as well as the baseball team to find out what their body art meant to them. Most of the athletes had a common ground: family. But we also found unique tattoos that ranged from roses to biblical verses to koi fish. The players took some time away from the athletic field and their studies to share their poignant stories with us. Here are some of our favorites.
-Jaynell Perera
Women’s Basketball
Small Forward/Shooting Guard
“I chose this scripture because I’ve been playing basketball all my life and basketball has gave me the strength to push through playing this sport, well, God has gave me the strength to play through this sport through all the injuries, mishaps I’ve had in my life.”
OMAR NEGRIN THE REPORTER
Men’s Basketball
Guard
“The clock, I put when my parents got married, so this is the date, basically. D and S is Deise and Sergio, my parents’ name.”
JAYNELL PERERA THE REPORTER
Women’s Basketball
Guard/Forward
“It’s [for] my grandma. She passed away last year in January. The flowers, she’s beautiful, so a rose. She liked roses.”
OMAR NEGRIN THE REPORTER
Men’s Basketball
Point Guard
“It just means that no matter what, you can’t really turn on your family. It’s just like a blood thing.”
JAYNELL PERERA THE REPORTER
Women’s Basketball
Shooting Guard
“It means live, laugh and love. I really like it because it describes my personality. I like to live, like, take every day at a time and live it like my last. I laugh a lot and I love a lot too.”
OMAR NEGRIN THE REPORTER
Men’s Basketball
Point Guard/Shooting Guard
“It was just hard times going through the hood, so that’s why I got the doves and the roses because it just symbolizes peace, and I just want to be at peace.”
JAYNELL PERERA THE REPORTER
Baseball
Infielder
“My grandfather meant a lot to me. He passed in 2006 of cancer. I really wanted to get this tattoo for him. It’s a bible verse that says, ‘When I walk through the valley of the shadow [of] death, I will fear no evil.’ I say that everyday of my life. He’s the one who introduced it to me. To put it in baseball terms, when I’m on deck, I walk up to the plate, I’m saying it in my head the whole time. All the way through, till I get to the box. Some people get scared at the plate, some people don’t. Just in case you get nervous in big situations think about that. Fear no evil and you’re good to go man.”
OMAR NEGRIN THE REPORTER
Baseball
Right-Handed Pitcher
“The koi fish, the significance is the tradition that it has. The Chinese or the Japanese legend that a koi fish swims against stream, so in the prophecy or the legend that it is, koi fish swims upstream against the water and it gets through the yellow gates, and when it gets through the yellow gates it turns into a dragon. So that symbolizes just pushing through your things and pushing through everything in life.“
OMAR NEGRIN THE REPORTER
Men’s Basketball
Power Forward
“It just reminds me that family is always over everything. Friends come and go, but blood is forever you know, so that’s why I always see it and I always think about my family.”
JAYNELL PERERA THE REPORTER
Women’s Basketball
Power Forward
“I chose it because we are only separate until I see him again. Once I pass, I know I’m going to see him, so we’ll meet again. Basically, it just reminds me of my dad, like knowing that I got him still.”
OMAR NEGRIN THE REPORTER
