I believe it's because they fear that everyone would be flying around on Constitutions. But with the infusion of NON-FEDERATION SHIPS which CBS has approved, it just seems like BS at this point.
So wait, I don't understand how naming a character after someone in a game constitutes "copyright infringement", unless you're impersonating them (and I highly doubt that people would believe that Bill Nye actually plays STO)
I'm all for making leveling more difficult, as long as the number of story missions per level is increased. Right now it's "finish all missions at your level, then grind" which is insanely boring.