Tarnished Twenty - The FindLaw Sports Law Blog - features sports law news and info about sports figures in trouble with the law


New England Patriots receiver Chad Ochocinco is deep-sixing (or should we say, deep-seis-ing?) his made-up last name. And he’s doing it for the sake of his reality TV-star fiancée.

Chad Ochocinco, born Chad Javon Johnson, revealed his latest name-change plans in response to a fan’s Twitter mention, a Sports Illustrated blog reports.

“I just notice (sic) I got bout 5 @ochocinco jerseys signed sitting on the wall,” the fan said in a tweet.

“Take them down, i’ll be Johnson on july 4th,” Chad Ochocinco/Johnson replied in a retweet, according to SI.

Some may be skeptical about Ochocinco’s claim.

Lawyers for the Los Angeles Dodgers want a federal court in Delaware to dismiss beaten fan Bryan Stow's lawsuit against the team.

Dodgers attorneys filed a motion with the bankruptcy court Friday, asserting Stow cannot prove the team is responsible for his injuries, MLB.com reports.

Stow, 42, of Santa Cruz, Calif., remains in rehab for severe brain injuries after two men attacked him in a Dodgers Stadium parking lot in March 2011. The attackers were arrested and are awaiting trial.

Lawyers for Stow and his two children filed suit against the Dodgers and team owner Frank McCourt -- first in California, and then in Delaware. Why sue in both states?

Denver Broncos running back Knowshon Moreno's lead foot led to his arrest last week for DUI in a construction zone, according to police.

Moreno, 24, was pulled over for speeding Feb. 1 in a Bentley convertible with personalized license plates that read "SAUCED," Denver's KDVR-TV reports. Moreno was going 70 mph in a 45 mph construction zone on Interstate 25, the station reported.

The Denver police officer who stopped Moreno smelled alcohol. But Moreno apparently wasn't too sauced -- he was "very respectful and polite," police told KDVR.

Alberto Contador Stripped of 2010 Tour de France Title by Court

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Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador's doping charges were upheld on Monday. He was stripped of his 2010 Tour de France title and banned from the sport for two years.

The decision was handed down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). The three-man panel held that Contador was guilty of taking performance-enhancing drugs.

Contador originally argued that the presence of clenbuterol in his system was not the result of illegal doping. The cyclist said it was because he ate contaminated meat.

Illegal Sports Websites Shut Down by Feds Ahead of Super Sunday

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Those who lack in cable -- or proper geographical region -- often turn to websites that stream sporting events online. But federal prosecutors in New York have put the kibosh on that activity just days before this year's Super Bowl.

Officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have seized 16 illegal sports websites, also arresting a man who runs 9 of them. That man, Yonjo Quiroa, has been charged with criminal infringement of copyright -- a crime that carries a 5 year prison term.

A Minnesota man's part-time job is on thin ice, after he was arrested for driving a Zamboni while drunk at a pee-wee hockey game.

Joel Keith Bruss, 34, of Apple Valley, Minn., was supposed to maneuver a Zamboni around an indoor ice rink to make the surface smooth for skating. But Bruss' moves were anything but smooth when he took to the ice Monday night, Minneapolis' WCCO-TV reports.

Kids and hockey moms were stunned as Bruss struggled to control the Zamboni, bumping into the rink's walls and unable to drive in a straight line. A concerned coach called 911.

WWE Wrestler, Harvard Law Grad David Otunga Wins NY Pro Bono Case

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He may play a lawyer on TV, but the WWE's A-List is a real attorney with a real degree from Harvard Law. And he just won a case.

David Otunga took a break from his usual shenanigans last week to help a man seeking unemployment benefits from the state. The pro bono case was such a success, the wrestler told TMZ he "smoked the witness during cross examination."

There is no word on whether he was wearing a suit or his usual bowtie and vest.

He had us at "hello," but now his creditors are demanding, "Show me the money!" The man who inspired the movie "Jerry Maguire," superagent Leigh Steinberg, has filed for bankruptcy.

Steinberg filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in Orange County, Calif., on Jan. 11, the Associated Press reports. Steinberg's debts include $1.4 million in unpaid rent for an office he leased in Newport Beach.

The famous sports agent blamed his financial problems on a long battle with alcoholism. "I just lost track while I was in rehab," Steinberg told the AP.

A former pro wrestler known as "Gangsta of Love" made some bad moves in bed. Now Andre Davis is headed to prison for failing to tell his sex partners he was HIV-positive.

Davis, 29, was sentenced to 32 years in prison after a Cincinnati jury convicted him of felonious assaults on 11 women, The Oxford Press reports. The charges stem from an Ohio law that requires people who are HIV-positive to disclose their status before engaging in sexual conduct.

The extent of Davis' deception isn't fully known, but prosecutors contend Davis may have slept with as many as 350 women while traveling the country as a wrestler. Davis' defense: He's a sex addict.

The San Francisco 49ers' NFC title loss to the New York Giants left a lot of Niners fans heartbroken -- and angry. Now punt returner Kyle Williams is receiving death threats via Twitter.

In case you missed it, Kyle Williams' fumble in overtime led to the Giants' field goal that won the NFC Championship, 20-17. Afterwards, Niners teammates "kind of patted me on the back and said, 'It's not all on your shoulders,'" Williams gamely told reporters after the game.

But some fans felt differently, and posted death threats on Twitter. Some fans may even have crossed a legal line with their threatening tweets, for example: