Not yet Ocho Cinco

[DG_ThenNowForever]

This is pretty funny to me. For all the people who are worked up about the NFL/Reebok not letting him wear the asinine name on the back proving what a moron he really is. This also reminds me of the phrase NASCAR tells it's drivers when the get out of line, "Don't F up our show. You need us more than we need you." If Chad Johnson never played another down, people would forget him so quickly. Chad needs the NFL, otherwise he becomes a nobody, and attention whores need a place to get attention. He needs the NFL.

But your opinion on the man or what he changed his name to is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is that a player named Chad Ocho Cinco is wearing the jersey with a name that isn't his. The NFL and Reebok are forcing him to, and I don't think that's right.

[Waleslax]

I'm surprised the NFL went the Financial obligations route. I would have thought they would have gone with the "you signed your contract as Chad Johnson" route.

Yeah, but women sign contracts all the time, only to change their names after marriage or divorce. As far as I know they don't have to modify an existing contract, nor does a contract obligate them to keep their original names. I don't see why Chad Eight Five would be obligated either.

I was JUST going to make a comment about what a cash-cow the WNBA line must be!

Another question - is this rule also enforceable if a player retires? How about if he gets cut or traded? Maybe that's why Favre didn't play that first pre-season game after being traded to the Jets. He probably had to settle with Reebok on account of all the old Favre Packers jerseys.

Another question. I have a Bears Cedric Benson jersey. Who do I apply to for a refund, since when I bought it (three years ago when I move to Chicago), I didn't know he'd suck and get cut. So who owes ME that money? Cederic? The Bears? Reebok?

RLR

PS - I'm watching the game now, and after that awful "return" to the 5 yard line, I want some money back from Devin Hester too. Not that I own his jersey, but he should be punished for that awful decision to stand in the endzone for 10 seconds before running.

[CubsFanBudMan]

Good point on Favre -- plenty of Packers jerseys he must have bought from Reebok. Not to mention Madden games.

Also, wasn't there a Michael Jackson that changed his name to Michael Dyson or something for.a while and the back again?

[ykiki5]

Thank you Reebok for stepping and stopping an idiotic publicity stunt.

It may be idiotic and it may be a publicity stunt, but the bottom line is that the man's NAME is now Chad Ocho Cinco.

Truth be told, I have a Chinese last name, but if it was translated to Spanish I actually would have the last name of Cinco...

Really though, can your employer or (here's what's really weird) one of your employer's suppliers dictate that you are NOT to be called YOUR NAME at work, but must be referred to by a name that is NO LONGER YOURS???

[Korbyn]

This whole situation is hillarious.

[Still MIGHTY]

He wore the new surname during pre-game.

hmm

Thats odd.

Chad's jersey looks different from the rest of the Bengals' jerseys...

Since he wasn't allowed to wear the Ocho Cinco yet and they had the Johnson jerseys in the stadium, did he just order that one from the NFL Shop or what?

There are differences in the nameplate and just below it and in the sidepanelling leading up to the shoulders. Is that just because he is a wide reciever or what?

[The_Admiral]

This also reminds me of the phrase NASCAR tells it's drivers when the get out of line, "Don't F up our show. You need us more than we need you."

Why would you want the NFL to be anything like those slack-jawed yokels?

This is stupid and bordering on uncomfortable in its racial implications. Ocho Cinco is his name now. The end.

Speaking of asinine, as in "of or relating to the ass," what about that one old guy? Dick butt-kiss? Is that a joke? How did he get away with having name like that in our League? Where was Roger Goodell to protect us from such filth?

[JQK]

This also reminds me of the phrase NASCAR tells it's drivers when the get out of line, "Don't F up our show. You need us more than we need you."

Why would you want the NFL to be anything like those slack-jawed yokels?

This is stupid and bordering on uncomfortable in its racial implications. Ocho Cinco is his name now. The end.

Speaking of asinine, as in "of or relating to the ass," what about that one old guy? Dick butt-kiss? Is that a joke? How did he get away with having name like that in our League? Where was Roger Goodell to protect us from such filth?

Wow... you're a fu*king moron, aintcha?

I feel dumber for having read your string of rambling words. I should be able to sue you for damages as well as pain and suffering.

Back to reality here... I don't think Chad is being an ass, or showboating, or any of that. I think he really is losing his grip on reality. I believe he is going insane. And that makes this whole thing awesome. I love this, and want me an "Ocho Cinco" jersey...

[VandyDelphia Mike]

It's not the NFL's place to judge the seriousness of a person's willingness to legally change his name. Preposterous as it may be, Ocho Cinco is the guy's last name, and it ought to be how his name appears on the back of his shirt.

Is the NFL afraid every crackpot wanting to have a silly nickname on his back will go the legal name change route just to do so? So what if the league is unapproving ... the league needs to respect the legal impetus.

[FiddySicks]

It's not the NFL's place to judge the seriousness of a person's willingness to legally change his name. Preposterous as it may be, Ocho Cinco is the guy's last name, and it ought to be how his name appears on the back of his shirt.

Is the NFL afraid every crackpot wanting to have a silly nickname on his back will go the legal name change route just to do so? So what if the league is unapproving ... the league needs to respect the legal impetus.

I think I can sort of see where the league is coming from in worrying that this could turn into an XFL style fiasco, but at he same time changing your LEGAL name in all aspects really wouldn't be worth it to most, so I think the worry is pretty unwarranted.

[eRay]

Also, the government won't just let you change your name to anything, like Phoebe Buffay (from Friends) becoming Princess Consuela Banana Hammock in one episode. They have to determine if your intentions are right, if you are infringing on anybody's trademarks, and see if there is any other reason to deny your application. The point is, you will not see people changing their name to Rocket, or Flash, or The Shadow, or most common-place-word nicknames. I would think a lot of people wouldn't go that far for a generic nickname anyway.

I'm sick of the NFL thinking they are more powerful or sensible than the U.S. Government (and some of you people agreeing).

[trekbkr]

Here's something I thought was interesting: according to the court document granting the change, his new last name is actually one word.

Legally, he's Chad Javon Ochocinco. Wonder if his nameplate will be that accurate?

[CubsFanBudMan]

Here's something I thought was interesting: according to the court document granting the change, his new last name is actually one word.

Legally, he's Chad Javon Ochocinco. Wonder if his nameplate will be that accurate?

I figured that's the way he'd do it -- or with a hyphen -- since otherwise the NFL could say, "Your last name technically is 'Cinco.' and only allow that on the jersey." And judging by what started this thread, they are that picky.

I'm sure the equipment manager will conveniently leave some extra space -- until the first fine anyway.

[JQK]

The way i hear it now, is that it's not the NFL, it's Reebok.

See, Reebok makes not only the official jerseys for the NFL, but they make many, many jerseys for sale to the public.

"Well, duh, Kinger, tell us something we don't know..."

Stay with me, class.

Now, Reebok has a way of protecting themselves from sudden number, and i guess now, name changes. If a player wants to suddenly change his number (or name), he must compensate Reebok for all of the jerseys they have produced. According to Reebok, Chad would owe the company $4.8 Million if he wanted his name change to be put on the back of his jersey immediatly. Otherwise, he will have to wait until next season. This has a history as well. a few seasons ago a Broncos player (can't remember the name) wanted to suddenly change his number. Reebok told him the same thing.

He decided not to change his number.

[-kj]

Do they charge teams in a similar way if a player is traded?

[JQK]

Do they charge teams in a similar way if a player is traded?

I do believe that is probably covered in some kind of legal speak in the agreement between the NFL and Reebok. Like "Hey, trades happen. You'll just have to eat that cost if a player you produce a jersey for gets traded." That's my legal speak.

And if you look at the NFL Jersey sales over the last month, Brett Favre Jets jersey is number one, Brett Favre Packers jersey is number two. I think Rebok can live with that.

[illwauk]

Bull s**t!!

Like they couldn't have informed him of this "financial obligation" when he changed his name so he could've had that taken care of. The NFL is just feeling salty because someone finally called their bluff and had the balls to stand up to their quasi-fascist policies. But entually they're gonna run out of excuses... the suits are just being petty and delaying the inevitable.

His name is Chad Ocho Cinco, not Chad Johnson. There's no reasonable excuse that a man has to wear another man's name on his jersey. That's terrible.

I agree entirely... my point was that these "financial obligations" are just some BS excuse for the NFL to not have to admit they were beaten at their own game... hence why I keep writing "financial obligation" in quotes.

[gueman]

I think we are all missing what the NFL is trying to prevent. Unapproved commercialization. Imagine some company like Budweiser or Coca Cola or even www.BetUS.com paying a player a few millions to go to court and change his name. By allowing Chad Johnson to change his name to the silly Ocho Cinco, it just opens a Pandora's box. If they allow the Ocho Cinco, what is next ESPN, Faqu-all, or any other thing you can think of. The example given by ERay is based on a TV show so I doubt they writers really checked into the legality of such a thing. In America you can find a judge some were to agree to such a silly name change. I mean we do live in a country were 25 people named there kids Espn!

[illwauk]

I think we are all missing what the NFL is trying to prevent. Unapproved commercialization. Imagine some company like Budweiser or Coca Cola or even www.BetUS.com paying a player a few millions to go to court and change his name. By allowing Chad Johnson to change his name to the silly Ocho Cinco, it just opens a Pandora's box. If they allow the Ocho Cinco, what is next ESPN, Faqu-all, or any other thing you can think of. The example given by ERay is based on a TV show so I doubt they writers really checked into the legality of such a thing. In America you can find a judge some were to agree to such a silly name change. I mean we do live in a country were 25 people named there kids Espn!

Again... this scenario falls way out of the jurisdiction of the NFL. It's also completely unlikely given that it's illegal to change your name to something that infringes on a copyright. So in order for a player to change his name to, say, Budweiser, Anhueiser-Busch would have to give them the green light, thereby giving up certian legal rights to their tradmark (which they would NEVER do).

The most the NFL has a right to do here is remove the names from the shirts... which honestly... I can live with. Not only would the jerseys look nicer, but Ocho Cinco would have an even bigger moral victory for forcing the league to do so.

Besides, if the NFL is worried that the players are such consumer whores that they would sell an identity they've held their entire lives for a couple million dollars, they have no one but themselves to blame. This current generation of players are the same guys that grew up in the 80's and 90's watching pro sports leagues whore themselves out to the highest bidder to get teens and pre-teens to watch their games and buy their merchandise. It's just another example of corporate amerikas "what's good for the goose is only good for the goose" mentality.

[gueman]

I think we are all missing what the NFL is trying to prevent. Unapproved commercialization. Imagine some company like Budweiser or Coca Cola or even www.BetUS.com paying a player a few millions to go to court and change his name. By allowing Chad Johnson to change his name to the silly Ocho Cinco, it just opens a Pandora's box. If they allow the Ocho Cinco, what is next ESPN, Faqu-all, or any other thing you can think of. The example given by ERay is based on a TV show so I doubt they writers really checked into the legality of such a thing. In America you can find a judge some were to agree to such a silly name change. I mean we do live in a country were 25 people named there kids Espn!

Again... this scenario falls way out of the jurisdiction of the NFL. It's also completely unlikely given that it's illegal to change your name to something that infringes on a copyright. So in order for a player to change his name to, say, Budweiser, Anhueiser-Busch would have to give them the green light, thereby giving up certian legal rights to their tradmark (which they would NEVER do).

The most the NFL has a right to do here is remove the names from the shirts... which honestly... I can live with. Not only would the jerseys look nicer, but Ocho Cinco would have an even bigger moral victory for forcing the league to do so.

Besides, if the NFL is worried that the players are such consumer whores that they would sell an identity they've held their entire lives for a couple million dollars, they have no one but themselves to blame. This current generation of players are the same guys that grew up in the 80's and 90's watching pro sports leagues whore themselves out to the highest bidder to get teens and pre-teens to watch their games and buy their merchandise. It's just another example of corporate amerikas "what's good for the goose is only good for the goose" mentality.

I disagree that it "falls way out of the jurisdiction of the NFL" , because the NFL is a private organization. They are the employer through the member clubs. Just like they can impose rules regarding personal conduct, they could also impose rules that regulate name changes. I will say you make a good point regarding AB, but what about a lesser dot com company that are just trying to make a splash. No one is forcing Chad Johnson to play in the NFL, and I would suspect he will eventually be able to have his jersey say "Ocho Cinco". How ever the league could state that only name changes based on religious beliefs would be accepted while a player is under contract. And that a player must give the same notice that teams give when proposing a uniform change.