Post by Philadelphia 76ers on Jan 6, 2008 15:34:28 GMT -5
The latest addition is graffiti art, "Anger is a Gift," is scrawled on his right arm.
Webber financed the tattoo with the $500 he collected in a bet with captain Kevin Garnett. Garnett had challenged Webber to eat a cockroach that was scampering through the team's dressing room when the 76ers were in New York for a game in late October.
Webber munched away and won.
"I just like the way (the tattoos) look," says Webber , who got his first when he began his junior basketball career at 16. "With my skin, it blends in well. I think it looks cool."
Garnett, the 76ers' star power forward, knows Webber as well as anyone. They roomed together while playing for USA Olympic Team and Webber lived with Garnett until finding his own place in Philadelphia last month. Garnett says Webber's "charisma" is welcome.
"He's definitely not normal," Bob Sura says, affectionately. "He beats to his own drum. He's a leader, not a follower. C-Webb definitely does his own thing, he gets away from things all the time. I mean, he takes care of me, downloading music onto my iPod. He's pretty versatile in his music. I like most of it..well, maybe not the hard gangster rap."
Sura also says the tattoos sum up Webber's personality.
"That's him. It's not a rash decision to say, 'let's go get a tattoo.' It's something he thought about for a long time. He's got personality and the game needs more personalities. He would tattoo his face if he wanted to."
The 76ers, however, might have something to say about that.
The club was less than enthused when, earlier this year, newspaper photographers were invited to take pictures of Webber at a downtown tattoo parlour. The photos of Webber getting his latest artwork etched on his arm were splashed in newspapers the following day.
"I don't know if it was an issue," says 76ers general manager Bryan Colangelo. "It was just the way it was handled, flaunted. I'm not going to get into a man's personal life. We're just trying to teach an individual what it takes to be a major league player. You have to work very hard at it and to be successful in this business, it has to be his priority. He is a talented player, he has a lot of things going for him."
Webber financed the tattoo with the $500 he collected in a bet with captain Kevin Garnett. Garnett had challenged Webber to eat a cockroach that was scampering through the team's dressing room when the 76ers were in New York for a game in late October.
Webber munched away and won.
"I just like the way (the tattoos) look," says Webber , who got his first when he began his junior basketball career at 16. "With my skin, it blends in well. I think it looks cool."
Garnett, the 76ers' star power forward, knows Webber as well as anyone. They roomed together while playing for USA Olympic Team and Webber lived with Garnett until finding his own place in Philadelphia last month. Garnett says Webber's "charisma" is welcome.
"He's definitely not normal," Bob Sura says, affectionately. "He beats to his own drum. He's a leader, not a follower. C-Webb definitely does his own thing, he gets away from things all the time. I mean, he takes care of me, downloading music onto my iPod. He's pretty versatile in his music. I like most of it..well, maybe not the hard gangster rap."
Sura also says the tattoos sum up Webber's personality.
"That's him. It's not a rash decision to say, 'let's go get a tattoo.' It's something he thought about for a long time. He's got personality and the game needs more personalities. He would tattoo his face if he wanted to."
The 76ers, however, might have something to say about that.
The club was less than enthused when, earlier this year, newspaper photographers were invited to take pictures of Webber at a downtown tattoo parlour. The photos of Webber getting his latest artwork etched on his arm were splashed in newspapers the following day.
"I don't know if it was an issue," says 76ers general manager Bryan Colangelo. "It was just the way it was handled, flaunted. I'm not going to get into a man's personal life. We're just trying to teach an individual what it takes to be a major league player. You have to work very hard at it and to be successful in this business, it has to be his priority. He is a talented player, he has a lot of things going for him."