Aaron Hernandez

The saga of Aaron Hernandez has been all over the news and everyone knows what he has been alleged to have done.  This is not an excuse nor a defense of Hernandez.  Hardly.  He is a young man of 23, blessed with athletic ability, and given more money than he could have spent in a lifetime.
That is a recipe for disaster.  Soon, a young man feels he is above the law and afforded special privileges because of who he is.  Look where it got him.  He is charged in one murder and is being accused of more.

Professional football has never been filled with choir boys.  It is a gladiator sport played by warriors who put their personal health on the line for the love of the game.  Look at how many it is has permanently injured, or crippled, because of its violence.  That is why the game is loved by the masses.  It is played by no mere mortals but freaks of nature.  However, it is also filled with players who have less than stellar pasts and those same players are also looked up to by boys and girls, young men and young ladies.  Hernandez is not the first player to get himself in such hot water and he won't be the last.  These are extremely hard lessons to learn.  Who would give up their freedom for a senseless act of violence?  Apparently at least one.

Hernandez will be locked up for a long time, if not forever.  A tremendous future down the drain because of a criminal act and a selfish one.  I am reminded of a line in the theme song from the 1970s television show Baretta, "Don't do the crime if you can't do the time."  What a senseless act and a waste of talent.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pittsburgh Sports

Much will have been said and written about the Steelers loss to the Ravens this past week and most of it will likely be true. Plenty of blame to go around for what happened at Heinz Field last Sunday and all of it justified. Penalties are inexcusable and uncalled for. Oh sure, penalties are going to take place. That is just the nature of the beast. But mental penalties, like false starts, are not justified. If you are an offensive lineman or someone on the line, it is your responsibility to know the snap count and not jump before the ball is snapped. Plain and simple. But this loss could have, and should have, been avoided. The offense could have played better, as could have the defense. Jeff Reed will have gotten his share of the blame, as well he should, and the ultimate insult is losing at home, which the Steelers should almost never do. I have never been sold on Heinz Field being an advantage for the Steelers like Three Rivers Stadium was. There is no deafening noise ra...
Read more

College conference expansion

For most in these parts, no one sways much west of the Mississippi River. The focus in college sports around here are Pitt, Penn State, West Virginia, and to an extent Ohio State and Michigan. There is a sprinkling of us who follow all of the (major) conferences from all over the country, but most here choose to stay local. That’s fine. That’s also one of the reasons why Sports Beat ventures outside the box and brings more insight into what is going on the world of sports. The order of the day is the expansion of major college conferences and, more specifically, the Big Ten and the Pac 10. As of this moment, Nebraska has been courted by, and accepted an invitation to, the Big Ten. Also Colorado has decided to join the Pac 10. Mind you, both schools are/were members of the Big 12, which used to be the Big Eight many years ago. It expanded when the then Southwestern Conference broke apart. Before going any further, here is the story locally. Years ago, Pitt and Penn State play...
Read more

Football camps

*Retirement. Most of us look forward to this aspect of our lives. Many will put in 40 years, or more, in a career and look ahead to when they can enjoy the fruits of their labors. Then, there are those fortunate enough to be able to retire early and can still enjoy the good life. Those of us who are considered regulars (regular, common people) think that everyone feels the way we do. Well, guess again. The world is a lot different today than it was 20, 30, even 40 years ago. No one spends 40 years at one job anymore. The world has changed. Today, an individual can hold, on average, 10 different jobs during the course of their career. Yet, we still have to put our time in before we are able to retire comfortably and with no money worries. And that is becoming even tougher to do. Why do I bring this up in a sports column? Most of our leisure time is spent watching some kind of sporting event. Either as a casual fan, or as a sports junkie (like me). The average career lifes...
Read more