In a shocking six-part series published by The Boston Globe, former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez's life is being magnified like never before. Hernandez was allegedly molested as a young boy growing up in Bristol, Connecticut, had a sexual relationship with a high school football teammate, his involvement in drugs and gang-related behavior grew rising to fame playing for the Florida Gators, and his incessant paranoia soared during his time with the Patriots, directly corroborated by head coach Bill Belichick.
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His suicide in 2017 in his prison cell at Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center is directly attributed to a severe case of CTE, a degenerative brain disease caused by his days playing football. In a series of disturbing accounts from former teammates in New England, Hernandez's bizarre and erratic behavior is being brought to light like never before.
Throughout Hernandez's life, starting at 17 years old, he had been involved in several shooting investigations, including a traffic light shooting in Gainesville in 2007, a double murder in Boston's South End in 2012, and the shooting of Alexander Bradley, who lost his eye after Hernandez allegedly held a gun to his head in intimidation and shot him.
Ultimately, Hernandez was convicted of first-degree murder for killing Odin Lloyd in 2013 and sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.
After his trial was placed in the public view, The Globe's in depth reporting on Hernandez's life is bringing scary new details of his bizarre lifestyle into the spotlight.
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Linebacker Dane Fletcher arrived in New England in 2010 as an undrafted free agent during the same year Hernandez was selected in the fourth round. The two would become mutual friends from battling on the field, which spilled into hangouts off of it.
Fletcher described meeting various acquaintances of the Patriots tight end, many of whom were described as "thug friends," seeing Hernandez questioned by police detectives outside of night clubs for unknown reasons, and making trips to Hernandez's "side place" where he stored guns, ammunition and drugs.
When he arrived in New England, wide receiver Brandon Lloyd was approached by teammate Wes Welker with a startling warning concerning Hernandez.
"[Wes Welker] is looking at me wide-eyed," Lloyd said. "And he says, 'I just want to warn you that [Hernandez] is going to talk about being bathed by his mother. He's going to have his genitalia out in front of you while you're sitting on your stool. He's going to talk about gay sex. Just do your best to ignore it. Even walk away.'"
"There would be swings where he'd be the most hyper-masculine, aggressive individual in the room, where he'd be ready to fight somebody in fits of rage. Or he'd be the most sensitive person in the room, talking about cuddling with his mother. Or he'd ask me, 'Do you think I'm good enough to play?'" — Brandon Lloyd, per The Boston Globe
These shocking revelations are bringing Hernandez's lifestyle into view, and we are getting a better picture as to what troubled the NFL star, and why he felt so isolated up until the point he committed suicide.
The full report by The Boston Globe will be released in its entirety by Friday October 19, and it's sure to detail Hernandez's trouble even further.
