All eyes were on the Florida Panthers warmups jerseys on Friday.
The Panthers wore special warmup sweaters in celebration of Black History Night before their game against the Buffalo Sabres at FLA Live Arena. The jerseys were created by Miami artist Keyani Watkins and inspired by Tupac Shakur's famous poetry collection "The Rose That Grew from Concrete."
Watkins drew on inspiration from the legendary late rapper while designing the jersey's incredible rose-filled crest. The shoulder patch of the jersey features a blank panther, which was the first idea that came to Watkins when he was asked to create a design.
Inspired by his love of music and Tupac Shakur’s “The Rose That Grew from Concrete,” we’re excited to wear these Black History Night warmup threads tonight as designed by Keyani Watkins (@artneverstops) 🌹 🎨 pic.twitter.com/l8yr4WCKRi
A concrete pattern is used for the numbers on the jersey inspired by another piece Watkins created called "set in stone." "[To] be a part of Black History Night for the Panthers top tier one of the best things ever," Watkins said to the Panthers in a Twitter video.
Meet the artist behind our Black History Night jersey design – Keyani Watkins aka @artneverstops!
He brings us through the inspiration and vision for the design and what it means to him 🌹 🎨 pic.twitter.com/S9HqGN1Xsx
Shakur, who was shot and killed in Las Vegas in 1996 at age 25, is still widely considered to be one of the best and most influential rappers in history.
