The National Football League decided on Thursday. To recognize receiver Chad Johnson legal name change to Chad Ocho Cinco. The new name will be on the back of his Cincinnati Bengals uniform for the season opener in Baltimore on Sunday.

The receiver had his name changed in his home state of Florida last week. Its a reference to his uniform numberOcho Cinco means eight five in Spanish. When the NFL celebrated Hispanic Heritage month in 2006, he wore it on the back of his uniform for pregame warmups, but had to remove it for the game because of NFL rulesit wasnt his real name.

The Pro Bowl receiver asked the media to start calling him by his new name this week. The Bengals couldnt change the name on his uniform until the NFL gave permission.

In an e-mail to The Associated Press on Thursday, league spokesman Greg Aiello said simply: Its his legal surname.

The receiver has declined to talk about the motivation for his attention-getting change. Coach Marvin Lewis said the receiver had been considering it since last March.

The change to Ocho Cinco is the receivers latest promotional move. Hes also known for his touchdown celebrations, his golden Mohawk for one season, his race against a horse and his list of defensive backs who failed to cover him.

One of the most notable name promotions in pro football was running back Rod Smarts decision to put He Hate Me on the back of his XFL jersey, which became the best seller in that leagues brief history. Smart trademarked the moniker but did not legally change his name, so he had to go by Smart when he made it to the NFL. He played for Philadelphia in 2001 and for Carolina from 2002-05.

Posted on September 5th, 2008 by admin
Filed under: NFL football news