Soccer player called out for supposedly copying Jayson Tatum’s tattoo
May 27, 2024; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) during the fourth quarter during game four of the eastern conference finals for the 2024 NBA playoffs at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
Jayson Tatum appears to be getting a dose of his own medicine.
Images went viral this week of professional soccer player Ismail Jakobs sporting a new tattoo on his back. Jakobs plays as a winger at the club level for French team AS Monaco and at the national level for Senegal. His new tattoo reads “God’s Will” and is almost identical in font and placement to the famous tattoo that the Boston Celtics star Tatum has on his back.
In a post to his Instagram Story, Tatum’s tattoo artist Steve Wiebe called out Jakobs for supposedly copying Tatum’s ink.
“bar for bar is crazy,” Wiebe wrote along with a facepalm emoji.
Jayson Tatum’s tattoo artist calls out a footballer for stealing Tatum’s back tattoo
(h/t @2Cool2Blog ) pic.twitter.com/JJzWa9eomw
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 21, 2024
Jakobs will have a tough time arguing that Tatum was not the inspiration for his new tattoo. Tatum’s tattoo is very distinctive (he is often showing it off during summer workout posts), and Jakobs even has the same crucifix in between the words “God’s” and “Will” that Tatum does.
The legal authority when it comes to a possible cause of action here for Wiebe and/or Tatum is somewhat murky. But at the very least, they can definitely call Jakobs weird for copying the tattoo Wiebe did on Tatum. Some might see this as karma though after Tatum’s various incidents of plagiarism in the last few months.
