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| Peyton Manning changed his name in an apparent jab at Bakers owner QCurl Sharif. |
By Woody Larry
FSN Sports Special Correspondent
Before even taking a snap for his new team, the 12th Avenue Bakers, All-NFFA quarterback Peyton Manning — a household name across America — will have a new name.
FSN has learned that Manning changed his legal name Thursday to He Hate Me. A NashVegas judge formally approved the name change, which had been complicated by negotiations with former player Rod Smart, who had trademarked the He Hate Me name and adopted it for himself. Manning’s legal counsel said that Smart had agreed to sell all rights to the name for a sum “in the low six figures.”
Manning’s new name apparently is a response to disparaging remarks made about him, in the days before the 2014 NFFA draft, by Bakers owner QCurl Sharif. Though most draft experts believed that Manning was the best player available, Sharif said publicly that his team would not use the No. 1 overall pick to put a “notorious pussy,” as he described the top-rated QB, on the Bakers’ roster.
“Naw, it’s nothing bad,” said Manning when this reporter caught up with him after practice at the Bakers’ 12South training complex. “We’re just trying to have some fun with it. It’s like the Nazi costumes on draft night; some people don’t understand Mr. Sharif’s sense of humor, which is natural because I don’t think he really understands it either. In fact, I’m not even sure he thinks of it as humor but rather as something more cosmic and profoundly spiritual.
“I knew that’s what was behind him calling me a female genital. And he knew I was joking when I called him one right back for taking me, the safe choice, instead of the guy he had a man-crush on, Tre Mason. But it’s all good. I’m excited to be here.”
Some, however, suggested a more complex explanation for the name change — one that involved a bitter rival to the Bakers. According to one source, whose claim was confirmed by an anonymous member of the Corsairs’ marketing staff, Manning became He Hate Me as part of a soon-to-be-announced endorsement deal with Haterade. By coincidence, Haterade negotiated a sponsorship deal last month with Bill Cheatham, then owner of the Bakers, for naming rights at Grey Goose Stadium. The sale of the team to Cheatham was voided by league owners after Sharif, who had been declared legally dead, surfaced last month following a six-month absence. Corsairs owner Mojo D is the largest stockholder in Hater Holdings, Haterade’s parent company.
“I suppose that could be what’s going on,” said Ellis D. Hayes, chief legal counsel for the West Nashville Beelzebubbas, who often consults with the NFFA on contracts and licensing issues. “But I think it’s probably just about the Bakers trying to sell more T-shirts and jerseys.”
FSN has learned that Manning changed his legal name Thursday to He Hate Me. A NashVegas judge formally approved the name change, which had been complicated by negotiations with former player Rod Smart, who had trademarked the He Hate Me name and adopted it for himself. Manning’s legal counsel said that Smart had agreed to sell all rights to the name for a sum “in the low six figures.”
Manning’s new name apparently is a response to disparaging remarks made about him, in the days before the 2014 NFFA draft, by Bakers owner QCurl Sharif. Though most draft experts believed that Manning was the best player available, Sharif said publicly that his team would not use the No. 1 overall pick to put a “notorious pussy,” as he described the top-rated QB, on the Bakers’ roster.
“Naw, it’s nothing bad,” said Manning when this reporter caught up with him after practice at the Bakers’ 12South training complex. “We’re just trying to have some fun with it. It’s like the Nazi costumes on draft night; some people don’t understand Mr. Sharif’s sense of humor, which is natural because I don’t think he really understands it either. In fact, I’m not even sure he thinks of it as humor but rather as something more cosmic and profoundly spiritual.
“I knew that’s what was behind him calling me a female genital. And he knew I was joking when I called him one right back for taking me, the safe choice, instead of the guy he had a man-crush on, Tre Mason. But it’s all good. I’m excited to be here.”
Some, however, suggested a more complex explanation for the name change — one that involved a bitter rival to the Bakers. According to one source, whose claim was confirmed by an anonymous member of the Corsairs’ marketing staff, Manning became He Hate Me as part of a soon-to-be-announced endorsement deal with Haterade. By coincidence, Haterade negotiated a sponsorship deal last month with Bill Cheatham, then owner of the Bakers, for naming rights at Grey Goose Stadium. The sale of the team to Cheatham was voided by league owners after Sharif, who had been declared legally dead, surfaced last month following a six-month absence. Corsairs owner Mojo D is the largest stockholder in Hater Holdings, Haterade’s parent company.
“I suppose that could be what’s going on,” said Ellis D. Hayes, chief legal counsel for the West Nashville Beelzebubbas, who often consults with the NFFA on contracts and licensing issues. “But I think it’s probably just about the Bakers trying to sell more T-shirts and jerseys.”
Lynch Misses Green Opener after Competing in ‘Battle of the Bulge’
Marshawn Lynch, who had been projected to start for The Village Green but was not in the lineup for the team’s opening game Thursday, apparently was a no-show because he had been competing in a sordid contest at the team’s unofficial headquarters, the Goodrow-a-Go-Go night club.
FSN has learned that Lynch had been part of the weekly “Battle of the Bulge” competition, which has become a very popular tradition at the club after The Green coach Stuart Smalley modeled “meggings” in team colors at a fashion show there.
During the Battle of the Bulge each Thursday evening, contestants walk a runway wearing meggings and The Village Green jerseys. The winner is determined by audience applause.
Witnesses said Lynch was competing on behalf of an unidentified local charity, but “the contest ran long,” said one, “and things kind of got out of hand.”
A person who answered the phone at The Village Green’s offices said the team would have no comment, and she could not say whether players would not be allowed to be part of the meggings competition in the future.
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