My Take:Aaron Hernandez

Some Stories in sports push the boundaries of sports fans and become nationwide stories. That is the case here when speaking about former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez has been accused for the murder of semi pro football player Odin Llyod and is facing a life sentence in prison.

This seems to be just another cautionary tale of Pro Athletes thinking they are superman and then making stupid decisions that lead to a change in public perception of them and loads of media scrutiny. This is much more then that Hernandez is not only accused for the murder of Odin Lloyd but also accused of a 2012 shooting in Boston. People who are also close to Hernandez such as his counter parts Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace are all in connection to this and multiple murders.

Before this all took place Hernandez had the world in his hands. He is a decorated football player in 2008 he was part of the Florida Gator team that won the national championship. The very next year he was awarded the John Mackey award given to the best collegiate tight end. Due to questions facing his character Hernandez fell to the 4^th round of the NFL Draft in 2010. Once he got to the NFL he made the Pro Bowl in 2011. After a tremendous season he was rewarded a 5 year 37.5 million dollar contract. Back in April he signed a 2 year endorsement deal with Puma and that has now been terminated along with his contract with the Patriots.

Hernandez looked like he had it all Money, tremendous talent, a family what could possibly go wrong. Well here’s what happened with all of those things comes an ego its the way humans are wired. Hernandez is a fantastic player but people always questioned his mental make up which is why he was a 4^th round draft pick in the first place. It looks like now those GM's assumptions of Hernandez were right.

Whats crazy about this whole story from my perspective is that I actually had an encounter with Aaron Hernandez as you can see in the picture above. It was like any other day with my friends hanging out at Aventura Mall we walk around, we crack jokes and just enjoy that time. Well on this particular day we were at a shoe store and we spotted this large oversized man, we knew he was somebody. Later when I was in the bathroom I went to go wash my hands and as i'm looking for soap I glance to my right, I then do a double take. The same oversized muscular guy in the shoe store was on my right and It was Aaron Hernandez. My friend Aydian thought it was the other Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski so I proceeded to ask Aaron Hernandez who towered over me “ Are You Rob Gronkowski” he replied stating “No Rob is a big white guy i'm Aaron Hernandez”. After telling him how I hated him as a Florida Gator due to the fact that I'm a UM fan and that it's a joy to watch him play I asked him for a picture and we was cool about it and gave me a yes. After the pic I went home and he went to go eat with nobody even noticing who he was. Its crazy how a year changes things.

In my heart I want to believe that Hernandez didn't shoot Odin Lloyd and that he is innocent but with all the signs pointing straight at him that’s incredibly hard to do. He is such a cool guy and he seems very humble but the way he acted towards me and other fans vs what has taken place are 2 completely different things. I don't wish bad on anybody so if he gets convicted I'm just hoping something semi good comes out of this whether its Hernandez becoming a better person or just an example of what not to do if your a professional athlete.