San Francisco 49ers safety Donte Whitner is unhappy with the NFL for fining him $21,000 for his hit on St. Louis Rams wide receiver Chris Givens last Thursday. Whitner felt the hit was legal, and he has since created T-shirts that read “Legal Hitner” as a way of protesting the decision and having a little fun with his last name. Now, Whitner claims he is taking it a step further.
On Tuesday night, the 28-year-old tweeted that he was considering changing his last name from Whitner to “Hitner.” The next morning, he tweeted about it again. It doesn’t sound like he’s joking.
Thinking about taking the W out of my last name. Mom said its ok (y'all kno I had to ask 1st lol) #NotPlayingEither
— TWHITNER (@DonteWhitner) October 1, 2013
It's official…The W is being removed from my last name from Whitner to Hitner…GM
— TWHITNER (@DonteWhitner) October 2, 2013
If Chad Johnson can legally change his last name because of his jersey number, I don’t see why Whitner wouldn’t do it because of his style of play. And “Hitner” does have a much better ring to it than Ochocinco.
The next time Whitner is fined for a hit, the headlines could read as follows: “Hitner fined $20K for illegal hit.” Sounds perfect to me.
H/T Eye on Football
