The Aaron Hernandez murder case has shocked many in the football world and around the nation, but one place is more shocked than others, as the tight end's hometown of Bristol is reeling from the charges and now all the success he had at Bristol Central High is being looked at in a new light.
Hernandez was heavily recruited in high school and he appeared all set to go to UConn to join his brother D.J. there, but instead he changed his mind and decided to go to Florida. His Mother Terri and Brother D.J. were shocked at what happened and previously said in the past that Hernandez got caught up with drugs and the wrong types of people after their father Dennis passed away from complications of surgery. The sudden death put Hernandez on a bad path that eventually led him to jail, where is facing life in prison for murder.
Hernandez was one of the top players at his high school and was going to play for UConn football coach Randy Edsall before changing his mind. Courant.com details what happened to Hernandez in the past, saying that the death in 2006 of his father was a turning point for the star and eventually he ended up at Florida, away from his brother and UConn. His father played for UConn as well and Hernandez would have been the third in his family to play there.
Hernandez had a number of issues while at Florida, including getting into problems with fighting and drugs, which started back when he was in Bristol after his father died. Hernandez was questioned in a shooting and TMZ also posted a picture of him holding a gun from his time there as well. Hernandez was a star for Florida, but his checkered past dropped him into the fourth round of the draft for the Patriots.
The shocking news came down after a body was discovered less than a mile from his house and Hernandez was later arrested and released by the Patriots despite signing a huge contract and now the team will have some salary cap issues. Hernandez is also being investigated in connection with another crime, a double murder, and he could face more charges from that and a shooting stemming from an incident in Florida. The news is a bad image for the NFL and now Hernandez could end up in jail for the rest of his life.
