By: Kylan Watson

               Aaron Hernandez was a young football player who was full of promise, he played three-years of college football at the University of Florida. He went on to be drafted in the fourth round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New England Patriots. Hernandez grew up in Connecticut. He was a part of a dynamic duo at tight end with Rob Gronkowski. All that promise and potential was wasted, as Hernandez was convicted of the murder of Odin Lloyd in April of 2013. Hernandez’s story came to a tragic end as he killed himself last week. Hernandez had so much promised, but he squandered all that promise with his off the field behavior.

Hernandez’s body was found at 3:03 am on Wednesday, April 19^th, 2017. Scribbled on his forehead was John 3:16, three suicide notes were found, and an open bible. Aaron Hernandez had a lot of talent on a football field, but off the field Hernandez was a player who was brought down by terrible decision making and being associated with the wrong crowd. Hernandez was one of the top tight ends in the NFL during his playing career. He played for the New England Patriots one of the best teams in football history. However, Hernandez had a very turbulent life off the field he was a drug addict who was addicted to PCP, he also smoked marijuana. A lot of his teammates thought Hernandez would either become a legendary football player or be in jail. Hernandez proved his teammates right as he ended his life in a cell.

We will never know why Hernandez committed suicide. Hernandez was acquitted of killing two people in 2012. However, he was still serving a life sentence without the chance of parole for killing Lloyd. Maybe, Hernandez felt vindicated after being acquitted for those murders in 2012, and felt that the lives of his family members would be better without him. Ultimately, what might have doomed Hernandez was playing in the state of Massachusetts. Hernandez grew up in Connecticut, and ultimately being close to all of his friends and associates may have doomed Hernandez to this tragic end. Hernandez would hang out with his friends and associates on his off days, some were criminals who got Hernandez involved in illegal activities. This is a common story with athletes, a promising career comes to a tragic end because of bad associations off the field, Hernandez is just the latest horror story.