While the Patriots remained mostly silent, the NFL community littered the Internet with a wide range of reactions yesterday to Aaron Hernandez’ guilty verdict.
The Pats had no official comment after the conclusion of Hernandez’ murder trial. Also, current and former players had no interest in passing along their reactions when reached by phone. If they had an opinion, the consensus was their reaction had already been conveyed when the story first surfaced in 2013.
Running back Jonas Gray, who was never Hernandez’ teammate, was the only current Patriot to offer a literal response to the verdict.
“Not my place to weigh in on any of this,” Gray tweeted. “But enjoy your freedom, people, and cherish your loved ones. Nothing is promised.”
Running back Brandon Bolden tweeted an emoji of a surprised face after the verdict, but that could be taken any number of ways.
Free agent linebacker Brandon Spikes was Hernandez’ teammate with both the Patriots and Florida Gators, and he offered a controversial take.
“I’m confused about the justice system these days!!!” Spikes tweeted in all caps.
Free agent wide receiver David Nelson, who was Hernandez’ teammate at Florida and has also played for the Bills, Browns and Jets, shared his insightful perspective.
“I just can’t wrap my head around this,” Nelson tweeted. “For the first time, it’s real. That’s not the kid I knew. I just can’t understand it. He was found guilty, and should do the time. But, man. That’s not the guy I knew. How could that happen? Why did that happen? My heart and prayers go out to Odin Lloyd’s family. As blown away by this as I am, the focus and respect should be paid to them.”
Browns cornerback Joe Haden, who was also Hernandez’ teammate with the Gators, tweeted that he was “speechless.” Less than four hours later, though, Haden expounded on his thoughts.
“Praying for (the) Odin Lloyd and Hernandez families!” Haden tweeted. “At the end of the day, both families lost sons, and the kids lost their dads!”
Maurice Clarett, a former decorated running back for Ohio State who served roughly four years in jail due to multiple charges, has since worked to turn around his life by speaking to troubled youths and football players. He tweeted a series of opinions after Hernandez’ verdict.
“Aaron Hernandez is trying to hold it together right now,” Clarett tweeted. “It’s (going to) hurt when he goes back to his cell. I know the feeling. … It’s sad for all families. Very sad. Families actually do more suffering than the defendant and victim. Continuous suffering. … Can’t compare my crimes or sentence to Aaron, but I do know the feeling of thinking, ‘I’m about to go to the joint.’ Point I was making.”
Source: Top Stories - Google News - http://ift.tt/1FWhvs7
0 comments:
Post a Comment