The Aaron Hernandez Story Is Not a Tragedy, It’s a …

I’ve been following the Aaron Hernandez alleged murder case pretty closely and since I’m living in the Boston area I imagine I’ll be hearing and talking quite a bit about it throughout the next year as the criminal trial date could be set in 2014. Being an NFL fan, and with ESPN working the way it does, and CNN, FOX and other major networks covering the story and by simply being shocked by the craziness of this situation, well I admit, I’m captivated. Even though I wish I was reluctantly captivated, I must admit this week I am.

Here we have an extremely talented 23 year old football player who last summer signed a $40 million extension (with another $12.5million in signing bonus) who plays for one of the best NFL Teams/organizations in all of sports, who had a legitimate chance to play in another Super Bowl and enjoy a Pro-Bowl career who was instantly fired by the Patriots an hour of his arrest. Further, the lives of his fiancé, 8 month old daughter and the family and friends who loved him have radically been changed. I heard someone on the radio say, “All he had to do to insure his family’s prosperity for his children and grandchildren was not kill someone.” Wow.

(Photo from AP from Video)

It’s at this point, we typically say, “This is a tragedy.” But it isn’t.

The Aaron Hernandez story is not a tragedy. Now, the story of the victim, Odin Lloyd, is tragic. The story of Aaron Hernandez is a cautionary tale. And we’ve heard this one a number of times, a talented athlete/celebrity/influencer who uses his/her wealth/fame/power to steal/cheat/ or get away with something. Perhaps this individual is delusional, perhaps desperate but regardless of motivation, this person gets caught and squanders all the status and benefits of being him/her. Typically the general public turns on this person and hold him/her up as a cautionary tale for all to see. It’s the closest thing modern society has to a public crucifixion.

We’ve seen countless stories like this play out and we will certainly be talking more about similar ones. Most similarly will be the OJ Simpson saga who though was acquitted in 1997 has been back in jail since 2007. Among OJ’s cautionary tales is even when one gets away with murder, one’s troubled character will foil his life and future.

There are a lot of problems and injustices throughout our society. Among them is the way our judicial system punishes certain populations of people and this needs reform. Another concern we ought to have is how we as the general public observe these trials and how we can serve those who are found guilty and their families and communities. I’m not trying to promote a particular organization or cause here, but these high profile cases stories tend to bring attention to those lower profile ones and we ought not to ignore the goodness brought from that.

It’s also in these moments, we must consider the flaws in our own character. Thankfully, most of us are not likely to plot and murder another in the middle of the night, but we are all capable of causing great pain to others – perhaps not criminal, but still terrible. We resist this truth and find ways to defend and excuse ourselves. That is partially why there will always be conspiracy theories.

Yes, inevitably there will be a few conspiracy theories trying to protect Hernandez. “How could he have been so negligent with all of this circumstantial evidence? Gun shells in a car rented in your name with a set of keys in the victim’s pocket, the victim found a mile from his house, text message trails, and every camera, including his own home security system showing him with a gun verifying who he was with that fateful night – He must have been set up!” or “Maybe it was the concussions!” (will it work as a new temporary insanity plea?).

Some conspiracy theorist is going to come up with some incredible story that Hernandez was set up, the two guys in the back seat texted from Hernandez’ phone, made sure the cameras got him, they even have blue cotton candy Bubblicious bubble gum involved. Conspiracy theorists will tell us that Hernandez was forced to to do this because his family was secretly targeted and those two guys in the back seat were set up by two other guys. Now the world is screwed up enough for this to be possible as we can never underestimate the evil schemes our hearts are capable of creating but we must be careful that imagination and movie-watching never trump evidence, probable likelihood and the pursuit of truth.

Add to this that Odin himself will likely have his name dragged through the mud. I don’t know if he was a good man or not but if history repeats itself, his name will be tarnished by some. This will create more suffering for his family and community as most likely, Hernandez’ defense team will do their best to get their client acquitted.

There will be a drama, there will be more pain, some of the truth will emerge, some answers will never be known, we will get tired of this story but may there be justice. And as we pray for justice, may we not only focus on this troubled 23 year old, but may we be seekers of justice in our lives, seeking God’s redemption in our flawed souls and lastly, may God’s grace use the cautionary tales of our lives to bring some type of goodness to those near us and those fear from us. These are my prayers that I hope will unglue me from media reports and hold my attention captive to greater things.