We name lots of things after people. In most cases they’re nouns like Gatling Guns, Graham Crackers, Geiger Counters or G-Spots. Lot’s of places are named after people. But very few verbs come from proper names, and most of them are negative. Lynching, Hoovering and Ponzi Schemes come to mind, but not much else.

I’d like to add another name-noun to our lexicon: Nifong. You nifong by accusing an innocent person of something and absolutely refusing to back down even when presented with overwhelming evidence of their innocence. The more obvious their innocence, the bigger nifong you are. (Ok, so we’ll use it as a noun, too.)

Mike Nifong attempted to destroy the lives of three innocent college students even though their innocence was obvious within a week of the accusation. As more time went by more evidence supported their innocence, but nothing would stop Nifong. A time stamped picture at an ATM proving that one of the accused was nowhere near the scene of the “crime” didn’t even slow him down.

It’s very rare for this kind of behavior to be punished but his actions were so egregious that even the government noticed. He was stripped of his position and disbarred. And as a final blow, a cherry of pathos to top his pathetic career, when he turned in his law license it had been chewed on by a dog. That’s right, “the dog ate my license.”