Some American teenagers and college students get tattoos as an act of rebellion against their parents. For New Orleans Pelicans starting shooting guard E'Twaun Moore, the ink he added on both arms while attending Purdue University actually represents the exact opposite. On the underside of his left bicep, the word “Edna” is permanently inscribed. On the right, the word “Ezell.” The tattoos are a tribute to his parents, the two people E'Twaun credits most with his making it out of rough childhood surroundings and leading a blessed life, one that includes a college degree and an NBA career in its sixth season.
As the 27-year-old explains, the ink is a way to honor his mother and father, but also a constant reminder to him of their importance and influence. Like every NBA player, Moore spends October through springtime away from home – he's from East Chicago, Ind. – so he views the tattoos as a way to stay connected to family.
“I put their names on my muscles to always remember them, because they are my strength to keep going,” Moore said. “It's like a motivational-type thing. They are the ones to keep you going. They gave me everything. They gave me knowledge and took care of me.
“In the NBA, we are always gone and always have to travel. I always talk to them on the phone, but I look at it like I see them there (on my arms).”
As a youngster growing up near the Illinois border, 25 miles from the Windy City, Moore was raised in East Chicago, which is considered the fourth-most dangerous city in the Hoosier State, based on FBI crime statistics (notorious Gary, Ind., tops that list). Based on those surroundings, Ezell and Edna took a tough-love approach from the beginning, giving E'Twaun a strict curfew that forced him to come inside when many of his friends were still in the neighborhood playing.
E'Twaun didn't understand it at the time, but years later he's thankful for his parents and the reasoning behind keeping him out of harm's way.
“I had to come home before the street lights came on, once it started getting dark,” E'Twaun remembers now. “At the time I hated it. I would always say, 'Why do I have to come in when all of my friends are still outside? They get to do all these things I don't get to do!' I always used to argue with them and try to be able to do more.”
E'Twaun continues, grinning at the memory.
“I thought my father was real mean,” he said. “I thought both of my parents were mean. There were times when they'd tell me, 'No, you can't go over there.' Even when I was in high school, they were really strict about me going to parties. That definitely paid off. Now I see why. A lot of those people who had all of that freedom always ended up getting in trouble.”
Some of his friends from Indiana eventually were jailed. Another close friend was shot and killed while Moore was away at college.
“He was good at basketball, too,” Moore said quietly of the friend. “He was just as good as me. He could've made it to the NBA.”
Like both of his siblings, E'Twaun earned a college degree, something Edna and Ezell stressed was extremely important, based on the opportunities it would mean for their children.
“That was a big thing,” E'Twaun said of the accomplishment. “A lot of people don't even go to college. The fact that all of us graduated from college, that shows the hard work (Edna and Ezell) put in to keep us on the right track. They just wanted us to have a better life and a better future. So they made sure we had everything we needed to stay in school.”
When he looks back at it now, he realizes how fortunate he is to have two parents who've been together for decades. He remembers that many of the people he grew up with did not.
“Something like having both of your parents is supposed to be simple, supposed to be a given, but it's not,” he said, as he prepared for a recent Pelicans home game. “Not everyone has two parents involved. Where I'm from, some kids don't have either parent. Some don't have their mothers around, so they're raised by their grandmothers, aunties or someone else took care of them. I definitely appreciate it.”
Although some moms might be horrified by a son coming home from college and showing off his new body art, when E'Twaun surprised Edna and Ezell with his tattoos, they had the opposite reaction.
“They didn't know I was planning to do it,” E'Twaun said. “I just showed up and said, 'Look.' They were surprised. My dad was pretty happy. My mother was happy, because she likes stuff like that. She likes anything sentimental. She really appreciated it.
“When I got (the tattoos), I was just thinking about how important they were in my life. I thought about how if it wasn't for their influence, I wouldn't be as successful as I am today.”
