NFL Blocks 'Ocho Cinco' Jersey Name Change

Bengals' 85 must stick with old name unless he pays for souvenir shirts
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 24, 2008 1:48 AM CDT
NFL Blocks 'Ocho Cinco' Jersey Name Change
Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ocho Cinco (85) wears a jersey with his former name of "Johnson" during an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens last month.   (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Chad Ocho Cinco's jersey is going to continue to read plain old "C. Johnson" for the rest of the 2008 season, reports AP. The Cincinnati Bengals receiver legally changed his name before the season to the Spanish words for his shirt number. But the NFL has ruled that Ocho Cinco can't have his new name on his shirt unless he pays Reebok for all its unsold Johnson souvenir jerseys. He called the decision "stupid politics."
(More Chad Ochocinco stories.)

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