Will James (nee Peterson) signs with Eagles...

...and the thing I can't find in this story is why he changed his name.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2645173

While I admire Pasquarelli, someone dropped a ball here.

 

How do you figure?

 

Well, up top, the story prominently features his having changed his name, but there's no explanation as to why he did.

 

pasquerelli dropped a meatball??? don't believe it.

 

Inquirer has the answer ...

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/15897315.htm

The obvious first question for the Eagles' newest cornerback was: Why the name change?

"For a long time, I would say about two years, I've been thinking about changing my name to William James," the cornerback formerly known as Peterson said during a conference call. "Being cut by the Giants and having gone through this injury, it made me do some reflecting.

"A lot of times you grow up with the values and traditions and the cultures of your parents and the people we're surrounded by in our community, and you gain a certain mind-state. William James represents a change in that mind-state. It represents a personal switch that reflects me and reflects my values and the things that I represent."

The sixth-year veteran said his new name was taken from his full name of William James Peterson Jr.

"It's my middle name," he said.


(Personally, I like The Cornerback Formerly Known As Peterson, until he can come up with a cool character to represent him in lieu of an actual name)

 

When my sister changed her name, it was as simple as she didn't like the one she had. Guess I just think it's not that big of a deal, although ESPN's headline definitely had you wanting to know why.

 

In a related story, Donovan McNabb is considering changing his name to Akili Smith this season.

 

Ryan Leaf revolutionized short sleeves.

 

Ok, that's it. That was the final straw. The haterade consumption is at an all time high on this site.

 

Thanks, mediaguy.

I was just confused by how the story was written and the suggestiveness of the headline. That Peterson had changed his name was the one-sentence lede; being signed by the Eagles was secondary. Based on that, it missed one of the 5 W's.

Egregiously.

But if the report on the name change is not as prominent, it still would be nice to read a reason, even including the person stating the reason is personal. It would satisfy the curiosity in all who read.

 

In unrelated news, I have changed my name to BitterJamesHack.

 

So that's the second Eagle to change his name this year. Wasn't OL William Thomas formerly known as the oft-injured Tre Thomas?