Amare Stoudemire Teardrop Tattoo & Face Tattoo Meaning, Tribute To His Late Brother

Amare Stoudemire’s teardrop tattoo is the most exciting ink on his body. The tattoo below his right eye is a tribute to his brother Hazel who passed away in February 2012. 

The former NBA star was the subject of an hour-long EPIX Original Documentary entitled Amar’e Stoudemire: In The Moment. With the documentary’s release, he explained the loss of his beloved brother. In the most exciting parts of the clips, he related the tattoo to the grief and described his brother’s troubled life and prison sentence.

In particular, a tattoo of a tear put behind the eye is known as a “tear tattoo” or “teardrop tattoo.” It is also mostly recognized as the prison tattoo, although it has different interpretations. 

Female prison visitors also occasionally have tattoos to show their support for their loved ones. For example, after her husband Blake was sent to the Pentonville prison hospital for a possible drug overdose, Amy Winehouse inked a teardrop written in eyeliner on her face.

Similarly, North American rappers The Game and Lil Wayne also have teardrop tattoos signifying the loss of their friends.

Amare Stoudemire’s teardrop face tattoo grabs much attention even today since the ink can give dual interpretation to people.

But to the NBA star, it signifies an emotional tribute to his late brother. According to ESPN, Stoudemire always looked up to Hazell, whether he was in prison or not. His family reported that the NBA star cried for the first time since he was twelve at Hazell’s funeral. 

Now that obvious pain will linger with Stoudemire for the rest of his life; there are many fan-made theories behind it.

Stoudemire has 11 more tattoos on his body.

Besides Stoudemire’s teardrop face tattoo, he has eleven more meaningful inks. First, Bible scripture is inked on the player’s left side of the chest. The Bible says that because many people are called, but few are chosen, the last will be first and the first last. 20:16 in Matthew.

Secondly, The NBA coach has the word “Prophecy” inked on his right pec. On his right upper arm is also written the word “Poverty.” The first letter of both comments represents a giant “P” letter inked on his right shoulder. 

On his right bicep is a brick wall design with the words “Knowledge is Power” inscribed in the center of the wall. The quote, “Knowing is Knowledge,” completes the one on his right bicep.

On his right upper arm is also a tattoo of the word “STAT.” The remainder of his upper arm is also covered in a flame design. Likewise, on the upper side of his right forearm is a tattoo of a faceless man carrying a basketball with his left hand while donning a suit. The rest of the man’s sleeve is obscured by skyscrapers in the backdrop.

On the inside of the player’s right forearm, there is a rose tattoo. A tattoo of the Third World may be seen beneath the rose. On the inside of his right wrist, three Chinese characters are inked.

Stoudemire’s left hand has a little heart tattooed on it. In addition, each of his fingers has little letters and symbols tattooed. He then inked Jesus Christ on his left upper arm and shoulder to signify his faith in the religion. Along with the tattoo pattern, the words “NOBODY KNOWS MY SORROW” are also inked.

Near his elbow, a crimson ink tattoo of the phrase “HOLLYWOOD” can be seen. Similarly, on his elbow is a tattoo that reads “Proverbs 1:1-7 KJV.” The upper part of his left forearm has a scroll tattooed on it with a poem tattooed on it. 

Last but not least, the right side of his neck has the words “Black’ Jesus” tattooed.

Hazell Stoudemire Jr. was the older brother of retired NBA star Amare Stoudemire. He passed away in the year 2012 in a car accident.

Stoudemire Jr’s vehicle had collided with a tractor-trailer. He was driving a 2007 Cadillac Escalade north on U.S. 27 behind a Freightliner tractor-trailer. The car driven by Stoudemire came highspeed to rest in the U.S. 27 outer lane, killing him instantly at sight.

According to Amare Stoudemire’s biography, his brother had a troubled life. He only has eight years of age gap with his brother.

Amare was very fond of his brother, regardless of prison sentences. His brother stood 6 foot 10 inches tall and played basketball and football during high school. 

Prosecutors dismissed the domestic assault accusations against Hazell Stoudemire in 2010 after the victim failed to appear in court. In 2009, after his ex-wife admitted during her deposition that she didn’t remember an incident, Stoudemire was cleared of allegations of assaulting her.

Amare Stoudemire follows Judaism. Per his Wikipedia, he converted his religion in a Rabbinical court on August 26, 2020. 

There are Jews who, despite not practicing their religion, consider themselves Jewish ancestry or culture. For example, many Jews are born Jewish since their mothers are Jews, but some choose to convert to Judaism and go through the conversion process. 

In the case of Stoudemire, he identifies himself as the Hebrew Israeli. However, his birthplace is Lake Wales, Florida, a small city an hour away from Orlando.

Stoudemire had a hard childhood, as his parents divorced very young. Then, he was 12 when his father, Hazell Stoudemire Sr., passed of a heart attack. 

Carrie, the mother of Stoudemire, worked in agriculture, picking oranges in Florida and moving upstate New York in the fall to gather apples. She spent her life in and out of prison, which impacted her children’s lives.

Nevertheless, Amare Stoudemire moved to a different path, following his dream to become an NBA star. But, unfortunately, the NBA star has one more brother named Marwan Wilmore. 

In 2012, the NBA star married Alexis Welch, with whom he had dated since 2002. By profession, his wife, Alexis Welch, is a product engineer based in Orlando, Florida. She is working for Liberty Mutual Insurance.

There were reports in 2021 that the couple had a quiet divorce. Together they have four children.

As per the Celebrity Net Worth, Amare Stoudemire owns a stagerring net worth of USD 70 million.

He earned roughly USD 160 million in salary during his playing career, claims Spotrac. However, he mainly profited from playing for the New York Knicks, where he roughly banked around USD 20,910,988.   

The six-time All-Star was a free agent in 2010 when he signed a five-year, $100 million deal with the Knicks. He was currently in the final year of that deal. While playing for the Knicks, Stoudemire only made one All-Star team, and his scoring average has dropped each of the last four seasons. In addition, he has authored several novels for Scholastic Press’s younger readers.

Besides, the former NBA star is an athlete and a businessman. He endorsed many big brands throughout his playing days which earned him around USD 3 million to support his today’s net worth. In addition, the NBA star has his clothing brand, launched in 2011.

He owns a record company, Hypocalypto. Rappers from Phoenix to Atlanta have been signed to his firm.

Stoudemire also appeared in movies and T.V. shows. He guest starred on Law & Order: SVU, Entourage, and Sesame Street in 2011. The same year, Stoudemire agreed to create a series of middle-grade chapter novels for Scholastic Press titled STAT: Standing Tall And Talented.

Along with sports agents Arn Tellem and Ori Allon, Stoudemire acquired a significant partner in Hapoel Jerusalem, B.C., in the summer of 2013. Later that year, he was hired to help coach the Canadian men’s basketball team in preparation for the 2013 Maccabiah Games.