I'm sure there will soon be hundreds and/or thousands of articles concerning the 23 year old tight end for the NFL Patriots who was recently charged with murder, and I feel compelled to share a few of my own thoughts.
For those who are unfamiliar, here's a brief synopsis. Aaron Hernandez is a 23 year old NFL player. He's a star who received a 12.5 million dollar signing bonus and a 40 million dollar, 5-year contract to play. He was recently charged with first degree murder after allegedly shooting a man. His motives remain unclear.
Why would you do it? Why would you (allegedly) murder someone because...well...there's no good reason to murder someone. Maybe if you're defending your family, or your life, you can justifiably kill someone. But that's clearly not the case here. Is this a case of "You can take me out th' hood, but you can't take th' hood outta me"?
I don't think so. I'm going to go out on a limb and say that this man had a skewed perspective on the world. He was told by family, friends, women and NFL professionals that he was special. They told him that he's not normal, that he's rich and famous. They told him that he was living a life that most people can only dream of, and that he gets to earn money playing a sport he loves.
And he believed them. He believed every word they said, and their words echoed in his mind when he allegedly pulled the trigger. Tell me, would this young man have had any chance of going to college and making millions of dollars if he wasn't talented at an incredibly violent sport? No. For all of his physical gifts, Aaron Hernandez is lacking in the mental capacity to handle the life that was thrust at him. Is it his fault? Yes. Is the world of professional sports at fault as well? Undoubtedly.
There is no solution to this problem and everyone knows it exists. Firefighters, policeman and school teachers make what? 60k a year? So, if they weren't taxed and didn't have living expenses, and they saved every dime they made, they would have 12.5 million in what? 200 years?
The real problem is the situation that the world of professional sports and athlete worship has created. It is a situation that will continue to produce the saddest, most shameful stories that the rest of the world will watch with shakes of their heads and thousands of questions in their minds. As for Mr. Hernandez's true motives? I will eagerly be watching the news for updates, although I can't imagine a good reason to murder someone when you're as well off as he is (was).
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