Aaron Hernandez: Did he really fall from grace?

By Dr. James Ewers
Guest Columnist

When I think of the New England Patriots, I think of Super Bowl Champions and Aaron Hernandez. The game between the Patriots and the Seahawks was a game for the ages. Yet for many sports fans, the murder trial involving former Patriots tight end, Aaron Hernandez overshadows the game.

The guilty verdict was unanimous against Hernandez and he will spend the rest of his life in jail without the chance of parole. He was found guilty of killing Odin Lloyd in 2013.

There are a number of points to be made in the Aaron Hernandez case. First, not every athlete should be on a college campus. More stringent background checks and monitoring may be a solution. But will this solution help this billion-dollar industry called college football? When a college coach sees a student-athlete exhibiting inappropriate behavior, why not suspend him or boot him off the team. Duke basketball coach, Mike Krzyzewski kicked junior player, Rasheed Sulaimon off of the team never to return. Maybe that is why Duke is Duke. Some schools will put up with thugs in cleats and shorts while others won’t.

All of us have choices as to who we are around during the day and night. Do we want to be around high character men and women? Of course we do. What did Odin Lloyd see in Aaron Hernandez that made him want to be around him? Was it his fame and notoriety? It is safe to say that former pro football player Aaron Hernandez had been living on the edge for a long time. This time he finally fell over the cliff of bad choices and poor decisions.

I hope every coach in America shares this story with their players. What happened to Hernandez could easily happen to another athlete with promise. I have always said that the best athletes are hanging out on the corners of America because they don’t have the discipline and the self-control to be in organized team sports. Sometimes they slip through the cracks like Aaron Hernandez did. It is not if they slip through the cracks it is simply how long they stay. Aaron Hernandez didn’t stay very long.

There are countless college and professional teams that have problematic players with promise. Coaches must ask themselves if character counts. If it counts, you will make the necessary adjustments. If it doesn’t and you want to win at all costs, you will do nothing.

Family members always suffer because of the poor decisions and indiscretions that our children make. The pain expressed by Odin Lloyd’s mother, Ursula Ward could be felt through the television. There won’t be any grandchildren, not another birthday or him wanting to know what’s for dinner. The pain lingers and the torment is forever.

Tomorrow is not promised, not even this afternoon. Death will overtake us all. It is not when we die it is simply how we die. Remember the family of Odin Lloyd.

This article originally published in the May 4, 2015 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.