The Long, Sad Story of Aaron Hernandez

By Bob Phillips

The tragic life of Bristol's Aaron Hernandez came to an end last night when
the former Patriot star took his own life in a Massachusetts prison cell.

After their team tanked for the second straight time, losing badly at home to the eighth-seeded Chicago Bulls and falling behind 0-2 in the first round of the playoffs, many Boston fans may have thought the sky was falling. Then, when they woke up this morning, one item in the news put things all in perspective.

Some might call it ironic, others will simply say it’s a tragedy. But when Aaron Hernandez was found dead in his jail cell this morning after apparently taking his own life, it ended one of the saddest stories in the history of Connecticut sports—if not all of American sports.

Let’s start from the beginning. This reporter was covering the UConn football team back in 2006, and Hernandez’s older brother, DJ, was the Huskies’ quarterback. The word around the press box was “Wait, until you see this kid’s brother. He’s out of this world.”

The brother, of course, was Aaron, who went on to fame and fortune as an All-American tight end at the University of Florida, and later with the New England Patriots. (One of the ironies of this story is that the Pats are scheduled to visit the White House today.) But there were signs of trouble even back then.

After growing up in a rough neighborhood in Bristol, he was recruited by Florida where, as a star tight end for the Gators, he got into a bar fight and tested positive for marijuana usage. Those red flags caused his NFL stock to drop, and he ended up being taken in the fourth round in the XXX draft by the Pats. Now, that normally would have been considered a steal of mythic proportions, except by drafting Hernandez, you also drafted his baggage.

Nonetheless, for three years, Hernandez teamed up with Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski, and together with quarterback Tom Brady, may have very well created the top QB-tight end pairing in the history of football. Over that three-year span, Hernandez hauled in 175 passes, and reached paydirt 18 times. For his on-field achievements, he was awarded a $40 million contract extension.

“By the way, the Patriots very rarely rip up a contract,” noted ESPN’s Michele Steele (@ESPNMichele, who was the sports network’s Boston-based bureau reporter from 2013-16. “[This one was] two years into a four-year deal, and they gave him a $12.5 million signing bonus.”

But that was as good as it got for Hernandez. In 2012, he was arrested for the murder of Oden Lloyd and dropped by the Patriots. In 2013, he was indicted for the crime. In April of 2015, he was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. Sandwiched in between was an indictment for a double homicide outside a Boston nightclub in 2012. He was acquitted of that charge on Friday.

Then, last night, Aaron Hernandez’s life came to an end when he reportedly committed suicide in the jail cell that was to be his home for the rest of his time on this earth. And while the circumstances surrounding his death remain unclear—a former agent of Hernandez maintains there is “no way” he committed suicide—one thing is absolutely clear: the pain for Aaron Hernandez is over, although the pain he has inflicted on others will likely never end.

As one might expect, the reaction to Hernandez’s ending is somewhat mixed.

“To my friend my brother! Through thick and thin right or wrong we never left each other’s side. Today my heart hurts as I got the worse news I could have imagined” tweeted Mike Pouncey of the Miami Dolphins, who played with Hernandez in college at Florida.

“There are obviously some great athletes who have been despicable people and have done horrible things,” said sports writer Jeremy Schaap. “A life squandered; a life taken—at a minimum one: Oden Lloyd. That’s what we can’t forget here today. Yeah, Aaron Hernandez killed himself; this is a guy who took the life of Oden Lloyd, who tried to cover it up. We’re talking about a cold-blooded killer. There aren’t too many people who are going to mourn his death. They might feel bad about someone who had so much talent and found a way to squander it and hurt other people, but it’s frankly hard to feel bad for Aaron Hernandez.”

And while most of us share Schaap’s sentiments, I feel compelled to throw one thought out that I haven’t heard anyone mention throughout this day: Might a life of heavy steroid usage contributed to the incredibly violent wiring of Hernandez’s psyche? I’m not blaming this on steroids, mind you. Have no definitive proof that Hernandez even used steroids—although pictures of him in his prime playing years suggest he likely did. What I’m saying is that if he did use steroids, is it possible that they contributed to the violent life and ultimately the death of Aaron Hernandez?

It’s a question worth asking. So why isn’t anyone asking it?