Recent news shaped by local media in Connecticut made it appear that the death of former football player, Aaron Hernandez was something to expend endless amounts of ink, and great fanfare. His final resting place, Bristol, CT where he spent his childhood, nor his former football career is not license to make him a hero, worthy of being a role model. It seems way out of proportion. As I said in a recent Facebook post:
Maybe this isn’t the mainstream view but I just don’t get all of this fanfare for Aaron Hernandez in Connecticut. Yes, he grew up here and will be buried here in a private funeral, but the number of articles treat him like some role model. He was a murderer; potentially two times, they didn’t have a lot of evidence for the second one…… Sports is given this sacred position that is so warped, in my opinion. Yes, it is sad that he committed suicide, but he made his own bed and was a violent guy. Let’s get real!
April 15, 2015 – Hernandez is found guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Odin Lloyd, and is sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. He is also convicted of unlawful possession of a firearm and unlawful possession of ammunition, and his sentences are two and a half years to three years, and six months to three years, respectively.
April 14, 2017 – Is found not guilty of murder in the deaths of Safiro Furtado and Daniel de Abreu outside a nightclub in July 2012. Of the eight counts Hernandez faced, he is found guilty of just one: illegal possession of a firearm.
Two murder trials, one conviction, one acquittal for lack of sufficient evidence, law suits, drug, weapons charges, witness intimidation and a lot of bad behavior in prison spells trouble, trouble. This is not a man worthy of hero worship! One redeeming quality by the family, to give his brain to science. Even if he had multiple head injuries, that in no way excuses murder.
The manner in which the media tries to whitewash celebrities who are criminals is an insult to our intelligence and a disservice to society. Talk about fake news! When will the media tell the truth about those who have earned acclaim for the wrong reasons?
We must give equal credit to a culture of sports wielding its power and influence way beyond the norm. Salaries are enormous, athletes change their commitments like they change their socks with little consequence, while broadcasters give them adulation and free passes in most cases from intimate partner violence to murder. It’s okay because they have talent. This is so wrong and no one holds them accountable.
Others who have received similar treatment by the media; politicians, big government, and sports culture include:
- Caitlyn (formerly Bruce) Jenner- Olympic champion Bruce (now Caitlyn) Jenner was involved in a fatal car accident on the Malibu stretch of Pacific Coast Highway in February 2015. According to eyewitnesses, Jenner’s SUV rear ended a white car and sent it careening into oncoming traffic. It was then struck by a Hummer. The driver of the white car was killed, and seven others sustained injuries. Jenner was not hurt nor was she charged with manslaughter or a misdemeanor.
- Former First Lady Laura Bush -Misconduct with a motor vehicle resulting in death. See blog – https://donnagore.com/2015/08/12/laura-bush-fatal-car-accident/
- Billionaire Howard Hughes- In 1936, billionaire entrepreneur Howard Hughes hit a pedestrian with his car. The man died, but Hughes was not charged with any crimes as a result of the incident.
- Football player- Carolina Panthers Rae Carruth was complicit in the 1999 murder of his girlfriend, Cherica Adams, 24, and the attempted murder of his unborn son with friend Van Brett Watkins (the shooter). See blog- https://donnagore.com/2016/03/09/murdering-men-and-their-motive-no-room-for-babies/;
- Senator Ted Kennedy- In 1969, Ted Kennedy drove his car off a bridge on Chappaquiddick, an island near Martha’s Vineyard. The car went into the water, and though Kennedy swam free, his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, drowned in the overturned vehicle. Kennedy fled the scene and waited nine hours to report the incident; He later pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident. https://books.google.com/books/about/Senatorial_Privilege.html?id=mtrouya7aa4C
- Author William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch) shot and killed his wife, Joan Vollmer, in 1951. He was not charged with murder. The event stemmed from a drunken evening where the couple was playing a game of “William Tell,” as they had done in the past, in which Burroughs tried to shoot an apple from his wife’s head.
- Actor, Movie, Broadway star Matthew Broderick was in Northern Ireland, in 1987, vacationing with his then-girlfriend, Jennifer Grey, when the tragedy occurred on a country road in Ennis-Killen, County Fermanagh. Broderick inexplicably veered into the opposite lane. He smashed head-on into the car driven by Gallagher, 30, with her 63-year-old mom (who had multiple sclerosis) as a passenger. He was later convicted of the lesser charge of careless driving and fined just $175 versus 5 years in prison, The victims’ stunned family calling the case “a travesty of justice.”
And, there are so many more, but you get the idea; special privileges for many in the public eye. My hope is that if they have a conscience, if they are tormented, then they would come out, admit to their crimes, intentional or unintentional, and do positive things to pay it forward for the rest of their lives! But, that’s frequently not the way it works.
In the meantime, as I write this, the radio commentator is saying, “Friends and family are saying goodbye to Aaron Hernandez…” While loss of life is sorrowful for any individual and those who love them, let’s not make Aaron Hernandez any better than anyone else at the end of his life, public figure or not, after all, he was a convicted murderer.
References- http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/09/us/aaron-hernandez-fast-facts/ http://www.ranker.com/list/celebrities-who-have-killed-people/celebrity-lists
http://nypost.com/2002/09/02/brodericks-guilt-actor-to-meet-with-irish-kin-of-fatal-87-car-wreck/
http://people.com/crime/caitlyn-jenner-not-charged-in-deadly-car-accident-district-attorney/
http://realitystudio.org/bibliographic-bunker/william-burroughs-and-the-william-tell-legend/
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Donna R. Gore 