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NBA great Larry Bird takes issue with artist's tattoo-covered mural

By Connor Grott
Artist Jules Muck painted a mural of Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird (pictured) in Indianapolis. Bird disliked the tattoos painted on his image. File Photo by Mark Goldman/UPI
Artist Jules Muck painted a mural of Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird (pictured) in Indianapolis. Bird disliked the tattoos painted on his image. File Photo by Mark Goldman/UPI | License Photo

Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Larry Bird was displeased with a tattoo-covered image of himself in an Indianapolis mural.

According to CNN and the Indianapolis Star, California artist Jules Muck agreed Wednesday to adjust her painting after requests from Bird to change the mural.

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The painting, which shows Bird in a powder blue Indiana State uniform on a residential building, was based on a 1977 Sports Illustrated photo of him, but had tattoos that included bunnies mating on his right arm, a spiderweb on his shoulder and a red cardinal on his cheek.

Bird, who has no tattoos, took issue with the design of the image.

"Larry's position is he has elevated himself from where he began to where he is now through a lot of hard work," Bird's lawyer, Gary Sallee, said. "He has developed a brand that is marketable and he needs to protect that brand. The mural, as originally painted, was a departure from that brand."

Muck, who posted the mural on her Instagram, said that she agreed to a compromise and will remove all tattoos from the Bird piece except the word "Indiana" on his left arm.

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"This is another human being that is obviously not liking it," Muck said. "If he was happy and thought it was funny, that's a different story. ... It's nothing personal against Larry. I actually think it's funnier to put tattoos on people who don't have them.

"Larry deserves some sort of prestigious mural. That's not my calling. That's not what I'm here to do. I just wanted to have a little fun."

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