The folks at the Smoking Gun have gotten their mitts on the document filed by the person formerly known as Chad Johnson to change his name, and the document authorizing the new moniker.
And these documents contain some interesting details.
For starters, the name requested, and awarded, to Johnson isn’t “Ocho Cinco.” Instead, it’s “Ochocinco.” One word. No spaces, no hyphens.
The request also contains a concession that Mr. Ochocinco was convicted of misdemeanor battery in 2000, and charged with trespass and obstruction in 1996.
And, most importantly, the request and the final judgment awarding the name change acknowledge that there is no “ulterior purpose” for this name change.
No ulterior purpose? What a joke.
Clearly, there was an ulterior purpose; Johnson decided that he wants to be able to flounce around on a football field with the name of his alter ego emblazoned on his back, without getting his ass fined into the stone ages by the NFL.
That’s why the change was requested as one word — Ochocinco. The goal was to not raise any suspicions regarding the obvious ulterior purpose.
Though football fans know all about Johnson’s bizarre fascination with referring to himself as the Spanish translation of the two numbers on his football jersey, if the judge wasn’t aware of any of that, the judge might have concluded that “Ochocinco” was merely Johnson’s mother’s maiden name.
And since neither the NFL nor anyone else has any apparent legal standing to challenge or appeal the decision, there’s nothing anyone can do at this point to change it back.
Why do we care? As we pointed out on SportingNews.com, this whole thing creates a very bad precedent.
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7734077340, a Passionate Fan, on 9/5/08 at 9:31 pm
And your point is . . .?
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Rating: 3.75 / 5 with 13 rating(s)
7734077340, a Passionate Fan, on 9/5/08 at 9:33 pm
I hear florio is filing to change his name to defecto-dildo.
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Rating: 3 / 5 with 16 rating(s)
Bud Grant, a Head Coach, on 9/5/08 at 9:37 pm
As Homer said to Bart, “Let the baby have his bottle.”
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Rating: 3.9 / 5 with 9 rating(s)
brn4life, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 9:37 pm
idiot !
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Rating: 2.55 / 5 with 11 rating(s)
Honey Nut Florios, a Rookie, on 9/5/08 at 9:44 pm
Why does no one bring up the point that Ocho Cinco is not even the correct way of saying 85 in spanish. It is the equivalent of saying 8…….5.
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Rating: 2.15 / 5 with 14 rating(s)
kwwkkwwk, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 9:44 pm
I’d give him the LPGA treatment of English only and call him Chad Eightyfive.
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Rating: 3.9 / 5 with 9 rating(s)
Azinine, a Passionate Fan, on 9/5/08 at 9:44 pm
Florio, I realize that you’re the one with the legal background, but I think you may be wrong about this. What I gathered from reading the documents is that the court is simply trying to make sure the the name-changer isn’t try to avoid capture by police, seizure of assets or anything else that is ILLEGAL.
My guess is that he could have listed that, as you put it, “he wants to be able to flounce around on a football field with the name of his alter ego emblazoned on his back, without getting his ass fined into the stone ages by the NFL”, and the court wouldn’t have cared. Why should they? There’s nothing illegal about it…
Florio, I love your site and will continue to visit regularly, but everyday it seems you’re turning into more and more of a whiny bitch.
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Rating: 4.3 / 5 with 18 rating(s)
33243324, a Head Coach, on 9/5/08 at 9:47 pm
Apparently el-defecto called one of them 1-800 lawyers that advertise during Judge Judy and Jerry to handle his name change.
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Rating: 2.6 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
icase81, a Division Champ, on 9/5/08 at 9:48 pm
Who gives a crap? If he LEGALLY changes his name, who can bitch about it? Its obviously not really a ’stunt’ if he LEGALLY did it, now is it?
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Rating: 2.75 / 5 with 13 rating(s)
RJ Carrano, a Water Boy, on 9/5/08 at 10:00 pm
Goodell is choking on this, and I love it. Maybe next time he won’t fine a player $5,000 for a pre game joke done in fun. I hope 50 other players follow his lead. I can almost see it now. Randy “Freak”, Ben “RuthlessBurgher”, Adam “PacMan”, or whatever else they can think of. Goodell, you’ve met your match. Revenge is a dish best served cold…
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Rating: 3.35 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
Insomniac, a Rookie, on 9/5/08 at 10:01 pm
So technically, he can’t have a space on his name plate between Ocho and Cinco?
Also, so what if there is an “ulterior motive”? Every now and then you hear about people who legally change their name to make a political statement or some other statement.
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Rating: 4.15 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
Vox Veritas, a Hall of Famer, on 9/5/08 at 10:04 pm
BS, it doesn’t set a precedent. People have been legally changing their names to all sorts of weird crap for any number of reasons besides the familial and religious for a really long time.
“the NFL needs to add to its wish list a provision that allows the league to reject a proposed name change if it appears the change arises from motivations not religious or familial in nature. ”
You’re kidding, right? You’re taking this way harder than the NFL is. No way the players union would allow the NFL to take away what has been upheld in Federal court as a constitutional right (Jech v. Burch, 466 F.Supp. 714), and no way the NFL would be dumb enough to ask for something like that in the first place. It’s petty. A bigger concern might be the prospect of a team changing it’s name at the behest of a corporate interest. How would you like it if Proctor & Gamble paid the “other” Rooney brothers $500 million to change the name of the Steelers to the “Flexi-Wing Maxi-Pads”?
Don’t laugh… wouldn’t be the first time a Rooney changed that team’s name. They’re already playing in a stadium that has huge ketchup bottles in it that tip over whenever the Steelers score a TD, apparently to give the appearance of pouring thousands, perhaps millions of gallons of ketchup into the stadium, so you know they’re willing to humiliate themselves to some degree for the almighty dollar.
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Rating: 3.4 / 5 with 10 rating(s)
kaygee08, a Rookie, on 9/5/08 at 10:05 pm
Nevermind, I’m an idiot & don’t read EVERYTHING :headslap:
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
db_gators, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 10:11 pm
azinine is got it right. the “ulterior purpose” language refers to the petitioner not trying to dodge a lien that’s been placed against him (this is why the petition lists the money judgments that have been won against him), or a felony conviction (which in florida would suspend his voting rights), etc. the legal system really doesnt care about his pissing match with roger goodell.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
johnnyhollywood, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 10:18 pm
cant football just be fun? chad johnson smiles alot for being a bengal. i would rather see the nfl require you to graduate to claim your university on primetime than worry about shayne grahamcracker
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Rating: 4.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
millis, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 10:24 pm
If I’m wearing #85 on the team he someday gets traded to, I’m ransoming the number for $10 million!!!!
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Rating: 2.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
Crushing Touchdown Run, a Rookie, on 9/5/08 at 10:25 pm
Honey Nut Florios: Everyone and their mom has pointed that out going on a year now. I’m glad the doctors were able to bring you out of that coma.
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Rating: 4.2 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
Honey Nut Florios, a Rookie, on 9/5/08 at 10:42 pm
Hey, my mom has a majors in spanish and hasn’t said a damn thing! Thanks for answering my question.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
nnagi08, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 11:04 pm
“In time, we could have Vikings running back Adrian Peterbilt. Or 49ers quarterback J.T. O’Budweiser. Or Saints tight end Jeremy Jack Link’s Beef Jerky”
i don’t know why all you knuckleheads can’t see florio’s point, this type of chicanery is ridiculous…honey nuts of florio, i thought this was a great article!!!
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
Favre2012, a Conference Champ, on 9/5/08 at 11:14 pm
It’s only “a bad precedent” if you’re a lawyer with too much time on your hands.
OJ getting away with murder? That’s a bad precedent.
This is just entertainment. Settle down.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
empty13, a Hall of Famer, on 9/5/08 at 11:18 pm
well, chit ohso stinko does have a long history of going back on financial commitments he has made.
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Rating: 1 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
EvilDeadPigskin, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 11:21 pm
Yo Mr.Florio, why you be player hatin on Ochocinco? Was ‘Johnson’ his real last name or was it a last name passed down to him from bad history? Chad Ochocinco is as sick of a Wide Receiver as Muhammad Ali was a fighter both in their sport and off it.
Bottom Line: Life is a game and Chad Ocho Cinco has done a very good job of winning.
(he would be better off trying to win the ‘BIG GAME’ and get himself a ring rather than a new last name.
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
virtualplague, a Water Boy, on 9/5/08 at 11:26 pm
Okay, could we please shut the hell up about this now?
His LEGAL name is now Chad Ocho Cinco. Who cares? People change their names all of the time.
Did you make a stink like this when Domanick Davis changed his name to Domanick Williams? No, you didn’t. It’s his name and he can change it if he likes. He’s not hurting anyone, and if it will make him shut the hell up then so be it.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
RonO, a Head Coach, on 9/5/08 at 11:29 pm
So Johnson is his “real” name huh? I’m guessing slave name but what would I know.
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Rating: 4 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
sixptstar, a Cheerleader, on 9/5/08 at 11:50 pm
Okay, so what if of Ocho Cinco is not grammatically correct. It was a joke he came up with for Hispanic Heritage week. He was just having some fun. And it sounds better than “ochenta y cinco”.
In regards to the legalities, I also changed my name. The courts are just trying to make sure you are not hiding from creditors, judgements, etc. My alterior motive was that my parents gave me a stupid name (nothing a year of counseling couldn’t cure). The courts did not care about that so they approved the name change.
Ocho Cinco vs Ochocinco. Chad was smart enough to research the NFL rules. Players are only allowed 1 name on the jersey (I know, there are a few exceptions). So even an Hispanic player with the traditional 2 last names (father’s last name first followed my mother’s last name - Jorge Andres Rodriguez Gonzalez) would have to choose 1 of the names (in this case, it would be Rodriguez). So Chad, for all his faults, actually made a smart move - Ochocinco. That would be the only way to get the desired rusult (or close to it).
Unfortunately, per the rules of spanish grammar, it would actually be pronounced “ocho-keenko”. Just kidding, but wouldn’t that make a great story.
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Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)