Aaron Hernandez: Former Patriot Dead at Age 28; A Case Study in a Failed Life
28 year old Aaron Hernandez was found dead in his prison cell this morning, a suicide by hanging. How did a former New England Patriots star tight end find himself in this position?
Aaron Josef Hernandez began his college football career at the University of Florida in 2007, where he played his freshman , sophomore , and junior years. During that time, the achievements of most of the UF players were overshadowed by those of teammate Tim Tebow, but Hernandez had a respectable career, with a record of 111 receptions for 1382 yards, and 12 TD's. He was named an all American in 2009 (although his commemorative plaque for this achievement was removed from the UF stadium after his arrest in 2013). He reportedly had some run-wins with the law even during the Gainesville years: in 2007 he was involved in a fight, where he ruptured a man's eardrum. The prosecutor considered felony battery charges against Hernandez, but the case was not pursued. Also, his name came up in regards to another shooting, and hecre[ortedly failed to cooperate with the police investigation into this crime. Should someone have stepped in to mentor/counsel Hernandez after these close calls? Should he have sought out help himself? Society does tend to give a lot of leeway for bad behavior by star athletes.
In 2010, Hernandez decided not to play his senior year at UF, and went into the NFL draft, where he was selected by the Patriots as the 15th pick of the 4th round. Aaron began his promising career in 201, setting a Patriot team record for receptions by a rookie, with 45. In 2011, along with teammate Rob Gronkoski, he helped lead the team to super bowl XLVI against the Giants , which the Patriots lost 21-17.
For the following season, Hernandez was awarded a $40 million contract, but he would never play again. On June 26th 2013 he was arrested for the execution-style murder of a semi-pro football player named Odin Lloyd. I'm not really sure what lead to the shooting, but , the two were seen arguing, and Hernandez seems to have been a man with a bit of a bad temper...in any case, Hernandez's car was seen leaving the industrial park where the body was found, and his DNA was found at the murder scene. He was convicted of murder, and given life without parole. While in prison he was tried again for a double murder , a shooting that occurred outside of a nightclub, after a fight over a spilled drink. He was found not guilty in that case.
Today, many of Hernandez's Patriot teammates are on the way to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl win over the
Atlanta Falcons. But , Aaron Hernandez's
troubled life officially ended at 4:07 AM today, when he was pronounced dead by hanging . Sad....