My Review on The Aaron Hernandez Documentary
It doesn’t take a genius to realize to Aaron Hernandez was a bad guy. He was convicted of a murder (and potentially killed others as well). I remember when Hernandez played on some of those great New England Patriots teams back in the day and was a special talent on the field. Yes, I watched all three episodes of the documentary on Hernandez and this is what I thought about it:
Hernandez grew up with an abusive father and I believe that was trigger number one to his bad actions. However, it was also (ironically) the death of his father that certainly contributed to the terrible actions he began to take as he aged. His father was a rock that may not have always been nice to him but kept him in line. Many people also said that Hernandez was keeping the secret that he was a homosexual and this also may have led to a life of crime. One has to wonder that if he was able to express himself fully, would any of this happened?
Hernandez was the center of attention from a young age. His ability and his build allowed for him to shine on the field. Unfortunately, each hit he took did not help his brain one bit and it would lead to serious CTE. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head injuries. Symptoms may include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking.
With what doctors know, one has to think twice before playing the game of football and subjecting the brain to this type of trauma. No amount of money is worth it. Regardless, that is no excuse for what Aaron Hernandez did to his victims and justice was served to him in court in 2015.
On April 19, 2017, Hernandez hung himself and was found dead in his cell.
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What did I learn from watching this?
- My biggest takeaway is that I feel even though his father was abusive and that is terrible, it was his death that really changed Hernandez. I do wonder if his father lived much longer if all of this would have happened? Thus, I learned that parents can have a positive impact in one’s life without being the best of friends with the children.
2. I learned (and believe) that this problem of CTE is going to become huge in the next decade as it is proven to impact more and more decision making in a negative manner. I love football just as much as the next guy, but it really does impact its players in a very poor manner.
3. While our society is far from perfect, I think our tolerance of those that are gay is becoming much better than say the previous generations. Now, each family is different and I refuse to speak for everyone, but it is just an overall observation I am making.
4. I’m not sure how the jail let Hernandez kill himself? The protocol amongst inmates in all jails should be fixed to avoid this from happening again.
5. Rest in peace to all of those that died and sorry to all the families that have to live with the various tragedies.
Overall, I would recommend watching this documentary. It’s three episodes that are just over one hour each.
