Darius Leonard officially became no more on Tuesday afternoon.
Leonard wants to be called by his middle name “Shaquille” going forward. When he reported to training camp, he wanted reporters to call him that name since it’s the name that most people in his life call him.
He echoed those same thoughts in a tweet on Tuesday evening.
“I went by Shaquille my whole life and I understand that it’ll be a hard change to be called Shaquille after being called Darius for 4 years. It’s not a huge deal and it wouldn’t be no hard feelings if you called me Darius. Shaquille is my middle name that I’ve went by since 95,” Leonard tweeted.
At the end of the day, Leonard’s wish will be granted unless there are reporters/other people out there who don’t care what he said.
Leonard is set to start camp on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) after having back surgery last month.
Even though he’ll be out for a little bit, he should be ready to go when the season starts on Sept. 11.