I did think that sounded strange, but is it analogous to people changing their name to an Islamic name when they become Muslim? Sometimes those conversions involve a degree of distancing from ones own identity. Muslims don't think twice when that happens.
The latter is a very good point; that said, the Muslims I knew who cared about such things would tend to insist that converts pick up at least an Arabic name - if they hadn't decided on one prior to conversion - if not change their names altogether. This wasn't active coercion so much as a form of nagging, but it still counts as pressure in my book. That said, it's hard to be unsympathetic to someone who finds themselves so much at odds with the culture they were born into, that they repudiate it so thoroughly, and without anyone else's prompting.
Oh my lord. I was looking for a hole to hide in when that came on. But it was awkward, human, not slick. This is a good thing, no?
It was a misstep, so I can't judge the guy too harshly; I think it really was just the "oh shit, you didn't just say that on national radio" factor that got me. What he said after that made sense, but anyone who were looking for reasons to be dismissive about it would probably have stopped listening after that.