The Reason for the “J” in the Spelling of Jrue Holiday’s Name

Making fun of the spelling of someone’s name is always a tricky proposition. Can you really get on the person for a screwup by the parents? For instance, is it Andruw Jones’ fault his parents spelled his name with a “U” causing people for some unknown reason to pronounce it “Ondrew” as if the U somehow changes the pronunciation of the first syllable? It’s a tough call, and maybe you only resort to that when the player messes up on the field. For instance, when watching UCLA play, I would say “nice shot Drew” after Holiday made a basket. As soon as he missed, he became “Jay-roo,” a play on the funky spelling of his name. But now, thanks to The 700 Level, we have found out the reason why Jrue Holiday’s name is spelled with a “J”:

[Comment From Enrico from The700Level]
Hey Jrue, welcome to Philly. Before fans will really get a chance to notice your game, the first thing we notice is your name. Is there a fun story behind the unique spelling?

Jrue: My mom and my mom’s sister were on a kick with J names … my cousins names are Jessica, Jenna, Jade, Jaelyn and James. My oldest brother is Justin and my name is Jrue (my mom liked the name Dru, but wanted to figure out how to keep with the J theme). After me though, that kinda ended, because my sister is Lauren and brother is Aaron.

Sounds to me like the mom should have ended the tradition with Jrue. Can’t really knock that competition because we all know people have their things. George Foreman gave all his kids the same first name (George), and the pretentious Roger Clemens spelled all his kid’s names with a “K” even if a “C” were more appropriate. But come on, Jrue? That’s really stretching it.