Per Boston Globe, Aaron Hernandez commits suicide

[Spaceman Spiff]

I don't see how the Patriots are at all responsible for any of this.  They drafted him, worked with him, tried to give him a structured environment full of other professionals that tried to be a good influence on him.  They gave him a ton of money.

 

None of that rubbed off on him.  At some point, it's up to the individual to make a choice. 

 

Patriots did what any employer would do, which is distance themselves from someone who did something as nasty as what Hernandez did. 

[Popeman38]

1 hour ago, ExoDus84 said:

 

Jose Baez is a gigantic piece of self-serving dog ****. I really hate that slimy ****. He was quoted today saying his firm would conduct its own thorough investigation, which is clearly nothing more than a money/attention grab. Scumbag man.

 

As to the story itself, I suppose there is some sort of justice after all. I feel bad for his daughter and the family of his victims. I don't feel bad for Hernandez. He made his own decisions, and willfully threw away a life of riches and fame for one that involved murdering an innocent man.

You say that, but I'm hiring Jose Baez the second I am ever charged with a crime. He represented Casey Anthony, and won. He represented Aaron Hernandez, and won.

[BornaSkinsFan83]

Two thoughts on this... 

 

1) I think it's an extremely tragic tale. And i do feel empathy for Hernandez. I know firsthand how easy it is to get sucked into a lifestyle, to get trapped by it and to lose control. And I know he lost his father as a teen and I can empathize how that loss and absence can really throw gasoline on the fire. And I'm assuming regret is a big factor in his decision to take his life and I can certainly empathize with that. None of this is to excuse his crimes or anything remotely near to that. Just that the way we leave this world isn't the way we come into it. And I can empathize with the journey. And I think most that ends this way is a tragedy in some form or fashion. 

 

And of course his victims, their families and his daughter are the biggest tragedies of all in this tragic tale. 

 

(Sidenote, i also think the rush to condemn a person--and his soul--in the most harshest terms possible, empathy and reflection be dammed, is really a growing shortcoming in our society.) 

 

2) Pats fans are absolutely insufferable on this topic. Holy ****. I'm not a Pats hater in the slightest but I swear the next time I see the line "He was a model citizen within the confines of Gillette Stadium" I'm probably gonna get a nosebleed or something from my bull**** meter rocking. They are so desperate to distance themselves from him. As far as I'm concerned they helped make all of this possible. As long as he was catching passes from Touchdown Tommy, **** it. Here's $40 mil. Then they ditched him as fast as they possibly could. Getting drafted by his hometown team was probably the worst possible thing that could've happened to him. 

[zoony]

2 hours ago, BornaSkinsFan83 said:

Two thoughts on this... 

 

1) I think it's an extremely tragic tale. And i do feel empathy for Hernandez. I know firsthand how easy it is to get sucked into a lifestyle, to get trapped by it and to lose control. And I know he lost his father as a teen and I can empathize how that loss and absence can really throw gasoline on the fire. And I'm assuming regret is a big factor in his decision to take his life and I can certainly empathize with that. None of this is to excuse his crimes or anything remotely near to that. Just that the way we leave this world isn't the way we come into it. And I can empathize with the journey. And I think most that ends this way is a tragedy in some form or fashion. 

 

And of course his victims, their families and his daughter are the biggest tragedies of all in this tragic tale. 

 

(Sidenote, i also think the rush to condemn a person--and his soul--in the most harshest terms possible, empathy and reflection be dammed, is really a growing shortcoming in our society.) 

 

 

Sociopaths / psychopaths are a very real thing.  Every single sign available pointed to him being one

 

You can feel sorry for whoever you want that is your right but I will pass

[twa]

9 hours ago, Why am I Mr. Pink? said:

 

Lol, yup everybody hates attorneys ... until they need one. 

 

They still hate them then, but it is nice to be needed.  

[TheGreatBuzz]

8 hours ago, Why am I Mr. Pink? said:

 

Lol, yup everybody hates attorneys ... until they need one. 

But the need for one is usually caused because of some other one the deserves the hate.

[RedskinsMayne]

kind of strange he waited three years to kill himself....

[Dan T.]

13 hours ago, Elessar78 said:

I find that sad that you can't find an "ounce of sympathy". It's tragic. People tend to be like, oh he had everything—it's the very reason to have an ounce of sympathy. No, we didn't lose a Martin Luther King, Jr.-type figure but a bit of humanity is in order. 

 

Everyone likes to pretend that they can outrun their history, environment, or upbringing but the vast majority of evidence says no we can't. We point to exceptions that do and hold them up as the norm. But they are that—exceptions. Not the norm. Pretty much, every player in the NFL is an exception just for the simple fact of being in the 1% of the football players that make it there. Many of them have had to control their past to get there and stay there— but many couldn't either. Maurice Claret, Rae Carruth, Dexter Manley. The average NFL career is 4 years long, many can just keep it together long enough to get out of the league on a football related issue. But it's also not surprising that a vast majority are broke 2 years after they leave the league. So really, most of these guys "have everything" but just for a very short bit. The ones that can parlay that into a lifetime of stability and security are, again, the exception. 

 

 

 

Oh bull****.  First, his upbringing was not that rough. Second, even people who live what some here are calling the "thug life" don't kill indiscriminately. He cold stone murdered three people on the flimsiest of motives and shot a dear friend point blank in the face and pushed him out of a car to die.  

 

He escaped everything except his own sociopathy.

 

 I won't cheer his death.  I think in the lonely time he had sitting in that cell, he had plenty of time to reflect on how badly he ****ed up. I'm sure he felt sorry for himself. I hope in his last moments he felt some sorrow for the people he shot in cold blood as well.

[Zazzaro703]

23 minutes ago, RedskinsMayne said:

kind of strange he waited three years to kill himself....

Over the course of that 3 years everyone in his life abandoned him. Only his girlfriend and child showed up to one trial date recently. I think it finally took its toll on him. Who can blame them? He cared about no one but himself.

 

It's a shame when talent goes to waste especially when people work their entire lives at bull**** jobs to make 1/10th what he made in a lifetime. I'd rather give my sympathy to the people that deserve it, hell I could have randomly spilled a drink on him out at a bar and ended up dead when my apology wasn't deemed good enough. I mean give me a break the psycho wrote John 3:16 on his forehead before he offed himself.

[RedskinsMayne]

oh, personally i'm glad he's dead. He news basically a serial killer. Three bodies to his name, at least. Gotta cutt em down.

[Elessar78]

7 hours ago, Dan T. said:

 

Oh bull****.  First, his upbringing was not that rough. Second, even people who live what some here are calling the "thug life" don't kill indiscriminately. He cold stone murdered three people on the flimsiest of motives and shot a dear friend point blank in the face and pushed him out of a car to die.  

 

He escaped everything except his own sociopathy.

 

 I won't cheer his death.  I think in the lonely time he had sitting in that cell, he had plenty of time to reflect on how badly he ****ed up. I'm sure he felt sorry for himself. I hope in his last moments he felt some sorrow for the people he shot in cold blood as well.

Dad dying in the operating table from a mistake sent him in a tail spin. Moms marrying an ex-con and parading criminals through his house growing up, not to mention she's involved in taking gambling bets illegally. At Florida, involved in at least two shooting incidents that were swept under the rug. 

 

After he got drafted, one of the rare NFL players not to buy his mom a big house. Says a lot about how he viewed his home life.

 

We're all responsible for our actions and hindsight is 20/20-but it's pretty clear that he was on a self destructive path.

 

"Life not that hard" ... stop living in a Hollywood story where people just man up and get their life straight. It's like asking you or me to man up and hit the gym so we could get to the NFL.

 

Change the details and his story is about as real as you can get. Lots of studies now show that no matter how messed up we always try to fix that first relationship insome way. Heck, he's almost a Greek tragedy-flew too close to the sun after God-fearing (maybe a phony) Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow tried to warn him off but also allowed his legal problems to be swept under the rug.

 

again, only the cute and cuddly lives are the only ones worth saving. Not the hardened, evil, tattooed ones like his. 'Cause that's how Jesus would roll. 

[Zazzaro703]

1 hour ago, Elessar78 said:

After he got drafted, one of the rare NFL players not to buy his mom a big house. Says a lot about how he viewed his home life.

 

again, only the cute and cuddly lives are the only ones worth saving. Not the hardened, evil, tattooed ones like his. 'Cause that's how Jesus would roll. 

Or maybe it was because he was a selfish sociopath that only cared about himself? You have to want to be saved to be saved, this is a man that smiled and laughed his way through that first trial showing ZERO remorse. Again, quite telling that NO ONE but his wife and child were there for him at the end and even their support was limited. It's terrible what happened at home, but he was still 16 years old and was more than capable of knowing right from wrong. Many children are put in that position and worse and go on to be successful being able to differentiate right from wrong. It's not like he was 6 years old. He chose wrong because he chose himself over and over again. Florida didn't do him any favors sweeping his crap under the rug, but again instead of viewing himself as lucky and having a second chance he got even worse. Sociopathic behavior through and through, this guy was going to be a menace to society to the end and now that he offed himself his guilty verdict will be wiped from the books and technically he died an innocent man in the eyes of the law... one last selfish move to hurt his victims all while mocking everyone with a John 3:16 on his forehead.

[Rocky21]

16 hours ago, BornaSkinsFan83 said:

As far as I'm concerned they helped make all of this possible. As long as he was catching passes from Touchdown Tommy, **** it. Here's $40 mil. Then they ditched him as fast as they possibly could. Getting drafted by his hometown team was probably the worst possible thing that could've happened to him. 

 

Thank you. 

[Dan T.]

3 hours ago, Elessar78 said:

Dad dying in the operating table from a mistake sent him in a tail spin. Moms marrying an ex-con and parading criminals through his house growing up, not to mention she's involved in taking gambling bets illegally. At Florida, involved in at least two shooting incidents that were swept under the rug. 

 

After he got drafted, one of the rare NFL players not to buy his mom a big house. Says a lot about how he viewed his home life.

 

We're all responsible for our actions and hindsight is 20/20-but it's pretty clear that he was on a self destructive path.

 

"Life not that hard" ... stop living in a Hollywood story where people just man up and get their life straight. It's like asking you or me to man up and hit the gym so we could get to the NFL.

 

Change the details and his story is about as real as you can get. Lots of studies now show that no matter how messed up we always try to fix that first relationship insome way. Heck, he's almost a Greek tragedy-flew too close to the sun after God-fearing (maybe a phony) Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow tried to warn him off but also allowed his legal problems to be swept under the rug.

 

again, only the cute and cuddly lives are the only ones worth saving. Not the hardened, evil, tattooed ones like his. 'Cause that's how Jesus would roll. 

 

Oh, life IS tough.  Everybody has their burdens to bear.  I'm sure his dad dying when he was 16 had a profound effect on him.  But this guy shot and killed people with reckless abandon.  Can you imagine riding in a car with your best friend and, in the midst of a petty argument, pulling out a gun, shooting him point blank in the face, and pushing him out of the car to die?   That conduct is light years removed from any "daddy died" motive.

 

And BTW, if you're going to argue that he had a tough life, I would suggest not including unsolved shootings he committed in college in your list of examples of how tough he had it. 

 

 I do have some sympathy for those guys who rise above a tough upbringing, make it in professional sports, and then lose fortunes or get cast aside with injuries. And I can usually empathize with the most desperate of cases. But I can't generate sympathy this guy, a sociopath who shot and murdered people indiscriminately.

[Why am I Mr. Pink?]

Heard some interesting points on Rob and Eds show on 105.7 this morning:

 

1. Its the depth of the fall. Someone from a rough upbringing doesnt fall that far when they go to jail. Someone like Aaron Hernandez who had money, mansions, women, drugs has a much harder farther fall. Depth of despair is tied to suicide. 

 

2. 1st trial he was a stone cold killer showing no emotion. 2nd trial he was crying. Jail broke him. 

 

3. Signing bonus money for his daughter may now be potentially recouped by the NFLPA. With the acquittal of the double murder and his murder conviction under appeal, Mass law says his guilty verdict on appeal is dismissed if the appellant (hernandez) dies during appeal.

 

I did not look up or verify Mass law but its been reported multiple times by multiple sources.   

[Kilmer17]

His daughter is now also apparently eligible for his NFL pension and benefits.

 

[Riggo-toni]

At least some good will come from this scumbag if she is taken care of.

[Dan T.]

Dan Wetzel wrote this piece... worth a read.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/aaron-hernandez-exhibited-slightest-change-final-days-143616551.html

 

Aaron Hernandez Exhibited the Slightest Change in His Final Days

 

Across his second murder trial, across what would be the final days of his life before his prison cell suicide Wednesday, there was the slightest change in Aaron Hernandez. It was a behind-the-scenes betrayal of his public face, one that stared down homicide cases and life sentences with a carefree attitude and a hauntingly happy smile.

 

Hernandez began to talk more. Talk to whomever was around him – lawyers and court officers and courthouse workers and the few confidants who dared to show their faces. He’d always been an engaged defendant and a defiant presence, but this was different. Maybe it was four years penned up. Maybe it was the realization that this, sitting inside a courtroom, was the most contact from the outside he’d ever again get. Maybe it was a sign of what was to come, years and years, decades and decades of emptiness and regret.

 

So Hernandez began to talk, especially about the world that was barreling along without him. Not much, but something. From the weather to the NFL news to how his old college teammate Tim Tebow was attempting a baseball career to the traffic on the highways to and from prison. He was open to small talk.

 

Every day Hernandez would show up in Courtroom 906 in downtown Boston and confront a few rows of family and friends of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, who he was charged with killing one Boston summer night in 2012. There were parents and cousins and wives and friends and an entire close-knit community of Abreus and Furtados who showed up everyday in court to support each other.

 

He’d talk about that, too.

 

Hernandez had no one. Or almost no one. Most days not a single supporter showed up. Not his mother. Not his brother. Not any of the old guys he played ball with or boyhood friends or hangers-on who used to flock to his star power. Not even the folks who once cheered for him from Bristol Central High School to the University of Florida to the New England Patriots. His defense team served papers to get his old coach, Bill Belichick, to come and offer some kind of character support. Belichick managed to dodge it.

 

...

This excerpt speaks to "escaping" the "thug" life:

 

Hernandez grew up in a two-parent home until his father’s death when he was 16. The home sits on a hill in Bristol, basketball hoop in the driveway, fence out front, small yard the boys had to mow and rake as the seasons came and went. The kids would lift weights in the basement and run gassers up the hill, preparing for the big time. Around the corner is where Shayanna grew up, elementary school classmates with Hernandez and an on-again, off-again couple since junior high.

 

And yet when Hernandez got out of the University of Florida, he decided to pal up with Bradley, an East Hartford (Conn.) marijuana trafficker. When Hernandez made it to the NFL he decided to befriend the street life. Hernandez’s story is the strangest of them all. He wasn’t dragged back down by his hometown or old gang ties or anything like it – he sought it out. Bradley and his friends used to mock him for his cushy upbringing and comparatively quiet hometown, best known as the home of ESPN.

 

 

 

 

[Popeman38]

50 minutes ago, Dan T. said:

Dan Wetzel wrote this piece... worth a read.

 

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/news/aaron-hernandez-exhibited-slightest-change-final-days-143616551.html

 

Aaron Hernandez Exhibited the Slightest Change in His Final Days

 

.

.

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I read this yesterday, and found it sad.

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

I blame the Patriots for enabling him. I also blame 30 of the other NFL teams for not drafting him, working with him, and trying to help. My favorite team is the only one whose hands are clean.

[queso87]

12 minutes ago, Sacks 'n' Stuff said:

I blame the Patriots for enabling him. I also blame 30 of the other NFL teams for not drafting him, working with him, and trying to help. My favorite team is the only one whose hands are clean.

I'm confused. I can't tell if you're being sarcastic. Why are the Redskins' hands clean but not other teams?

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

3 minutes ago, queso87 said:

I'm confused. I can't tell if you're being sarcastic. Why are the Redskins' hands clean but not other teams?

Because I like the Redskins.

[Malapropismic Depository]

3 hours ago, Dan T. said:

 

Oh, life IS tough.  Everybody has their burdens to bear.  I'm sure his dad dying when he was 16 had a profound effect on him.  But this guy shot and killed people with reckless abandon.  Can you imagine riding in a car with your best friend and, in the midst of a petty argument, pulling out a gun, shooting him point blank in the face, and pushing him out of the car to die?   That conduct is light years removed from any "daddy died" motive.

 

And BTW, if you're going to argue that he had a tough life, I would suggest not including unsolved shootings he committed in college in your list of examples of how tough he had it. 

 

 I do have some sympathy for those guys who rise above a tough upbringing, make it in professional sports, and then lose fortunes or get cast aside with injuries. And I can usually empathize with the most desperate of cases. But I can't generate sympathy this guy, a sociopath who shot and murdered people indiscriminately.

 

 

Not to mention, Aaron's brother turned out to be a pretty decent guy. The family issues didn't seem to hold him back.

[Kosher Ham]

The household thing is a lame reason. 

If you are trapped in that mentality, it happened before 16. 

I consider myself fortunate growing up with; A:  A father AND mother, B: Some discipline, C: Accountability for actions. 

 

We lived in crappy areas until I was in middle school. I knew right from wrong. Both parents worked 2 jobs at certain points of my childhood. Hell, we really didn't get the ball rolling towards true success until we left the DMV.  

[AsburySkinsFan]

Yep being reported all over now that his contract with the Pats is still in tact due to Massachusetts law. If it holds up, his daughter is hoing to get paid. Maybe the last thing he did was an act of mercy.