What’s In a Name (Change)?

As Ryan wrote yesterday, Chad Johnson legally changed his name to Chad Ocho Cinco last week, and the sports websites like yahoo are finally starting to recognize the change, but others, like ESPN, haven’t. Sports broadcasters also seem to be pretty uncomfortable referring to him as Chad Ocho Cinco with a straight face, preferring to just call him Chad or by his old name. My question here is why is everyone being so hesitant? I understand the situation with the name on the back involving Reebok selling replica jerseys, and that’s fine and can wait until next year. But the man is absolutely insane enough to legally change his name to a really goofy nickname, that’s what he should be called. There are precedents that have been set related to this over the years, and it has always ended the same way, with the player being recognized by his new name.

Two very high profile athletes from the 60’s to the 80’s changed their names after already acheiving a level of fame with their previous name after converting to Islam. They are Cassius Clay and Lew Alcindor, now known as Muhammad Ali and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. More recently, former LSU star Chris Jackson changed his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. All three of these men changed their names for religious reasons and after that point were rarely referred to by their pervious names. Basically the name changes were acknowledged and respected. (Side Note: Shareef Abdur-Rahim was actually born with that name)

Legal name changes haven’t always been for religious reasons though. In the 80’s an NBA player named Lloyd Bernard Free legally changed his first name to a shortened version of his nickname, “All-World.” Yep, he changed his name to World B. Free. Nothing religious about that, just a lot of fun, and it was recognized. Also, another NBA player played his entire career as Brian Williams, until the summer before his final year where he changed his name to Bison Dele to honor his Native American and African American heritage. It took a while for some announcers to get used to since they were so used to calling him Brian Williams, but again, it was accepted as his legal name. Sadly and kind of oddly, Dele mysteriously disappeared a few years later, likely killed by his brother Kevin Williams (who renamed himself Miles Dabord).

So Chad’s name change to Ocho Cinco is probably just a cry for attention, but its not that dissimilar from what Bison Dele and World B. Free did. But just like those athletes, he decided to officially change his name to something completely wacky, and it should be respected in the media and by his league. Some people are concerned that he did this just so he could have Ocho Cinco written on his back, and that could lead to other stars legally changing their names. But seriously, are that many other players crazy enough to do it. Again, there are precedents here. In the NBA, guys like Pete Maravich actually had the name “Pistol” on his back without making it part of his legal name, and in the XFL, players were allowed to put whatever they wanted on their backs (Remember Rod “He Hate Me” Smart?), but most just opted for their last name. Maybe the NFL and the media should lighten up and just enjoy the fact that one of their most talented players is giving their league some attention and giving the writers more stories to write.