Earlier this afternoon we brought you the story of Ciprian Marica's name changed, but in the NFL, Donte Whitner has changed his name for totally different reasons.
Following last weekend's action, San Francisco's Whitner was fined a staggering $21,000 for this supposedly illegal hit on St. Louis's wide receiver Chris Givens.
Since being fined, #legalhitner has been trending stateside, t-shirts with the slogan have been made, and the 49er's safety has not only suggested that he might drop the 'W' and change his name to Hitner, but the paperwork has already been filed.
Of course, wacky name changes in the US are nothing new, but at least this is a little cooler than Chad Ochocinco (now Johnson again) or The Ron Artest still known as Metta World Peace.
Getting into the spirit of the name change, Twitter has chipped in with some support.
@DonteWhitner here's a custom design to announce the new name! #LegalHitner #49ers #faithful #niners pic.twitter.com/ScfLTLT1eG
— Sean Sullivan (@SeanSullivan_23) October 3, 2013
@DonteWhitner Showin' my support! #legalhitner pic.twitter.com/x4jT6MGYDs — Matt Lindsay (@mattlindsay44) October 3, 2013
A preview of what @DonteWhitner's jersey would look like. #Hitner pic.twitter.com/Ngg2J9dLRN — San Francisco 49ers (@49ers) October 3, 2013
So it's official now! Donte Whitner is now Donte Hitner! All Hail Hitner!!! @DonteWhitner #LegalHitner pic.twitter.com/FNkFmNyCJf
— SH*T 49ERS FANS SAY (@49ersFansSay) October 2, 2013
story via bleacherreport
