The Aaron Hernandez murder case prompted a host of reporters to ask Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer about his former player and while he originally didn't answer questions, that didn't stop reporters from pestering the school and the coach for a response.
According to Deadspin.com, the emails sent by reporters to the school about Meyer and Hernandez and the whole situation were revealed after a public records request and showed just show each was rebuffed for some quotes.
Meyer hadn't commented on the situation much or directly at all until before last week and he refuted some comments and stories in the media about how his tenure as coach of the Gators was marred by player arrests and controversy, including incidents involving Hernandez. Meyer was coach of the team while Hernandez played there from 2007 to 2009 and now he is sitting in jail facing first degree murder charges after being arrested for the shooting of Odin Lloyd, a semi-professional football player. Police reports said that the motive behind the killing was Lloyd talking to the wrong people at a club and Meyer finally responded to the incident, saying that his thoughts and prayers go out to the victim and his family.
Meyer went on to say that blaming the University of Florida or his staff for any of the actions that occurred is wrong and that he also refuted reports about Hernandez failing drug tests while playing for the Gators. Meyer had previously declined to comment on the situation and he felt it was best to comment since reports made by the media were wrong about the school covering up drug tests. Meyer said that the staff and himself tried to mentor Hernandez and keep him on the right path, including having bible study sessions with him and trying to help him cope with his father's death.
Meyer already refused to talk about Hernandez since he was taken into custody for the murder of Odin Lloyd and his past as coach of the Gators has been scrutinized as well. A high number of players were arrested and dealt with character issues during Meyer's time with the team, including Hernandez, who also had issues with drugs and was suspended for one game while playing for the Gators. Meyer said that he speaks with Tebow on the reg and that while he feels that he will play quarterback, that he doesn't doubt that he could play tight end if forced into action. Hernandez is now in jail and Rob Gronkowski is coming back from surgery, which is one reason why many have speculated that he could play some tight end.
Hernandez and Tebow were teammates in Florida and were teammates again for a short time with the Patriots before Hernandez was arrested. Tebow was signed a few weeks ago after the Jets released him, while Hernandez was drafted three years ago, but he was released after the arrest came down, despite the fact that the team will take a cap hit for it after giving Hernandez a $40 million extension.
Tebow and Meyer tried to intervene to help Hernandez with religious and Bible study and other actions, but clearly it did not help much. Hernandez won awards while playing with the Gators and despite all that, he still got into trouble with drugs. The tight end was suspended for failing a drug test and he also was questioned about a shooting while in school. Another issues for Hernandez was fighting, as he got into an altercation with a bouncer the first year he was at the school.
Hernandez was one of the top young players in the league and recently signed a five year contract worth $40 million, but it is likely that his career in the NFL and possibly outside jail is over.
"I'm not going to talk about that," Meyer said.
