Was it because the player found his reputation too shrouded in negativity, and he hoped to start anew? No, although that would have been an acceptable reason for the young and somewhat troubled baller.
According to the Denver Post J.R. Smith announced on Tuesday before the Nuggets game in Chicago that “from now on, he wanted to be called by his given name, Earl.”
"I just felt like changing it. It's been a long time and J.R. has no significance to my name. My name is Earl, so I figured, why not?” Smith explained Tuesday morning.
But after the game, apparently many of J.R.’s friends and family heard the news and Smith claimed, “There was too much controversy with the switch. I got a lot of calls and text messages and e-mails. It wasn't a good move.”
Thank goodness for the technological age of 2009 we live in, because Earl Smith just d ...
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Article written by Rich Kurtzman