Aaron Hernandez Thread

Son Of A Vidic

HigginsJ wrote: »

Honest to god, words cannot describe the stupidity of some people

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000217697/article/pouncey-twins-don-free-hernandez-caps-at-club

Just thought I'd do a more accurate version of that image.....







Idiots.

Itssoeasy

Tweet from Maurkice pouncy eight hours ago on twitter.

"I fully recognize the seriousness of the situation involving my former teammate, and I regret that my actions appear to make light of that serious situation. I apologize to anyone who was offended by my actions."

Seems like someone in the steelers PR dept told him to cop on which is good stuff.

Arawn

Itssoeasy wrote: »

Tweet from Maurkice pouncy eight hours ago on twitter.

"I fully recognize the seriousness of the situation involving my former teammate, and I regret that my actions appear to make light of that serious situation. I apologize to anyone who was offended by my actions."

Seems like someone in the steelers PR dept told him to cop on which is good stuff.

lol look at the wording, it's not an apology

mongoman

Arawn wrote: »

lol look at the wording, it's not an apology

Itssoeasy wrote: »

I regret that my actions appear to make light of that serious situation. I apologize to anyone who was offended by my actions."

When someone apologises to anyone who was offended, then that goes down as an apology in my books.

Son Of A Vidic

Itssoeasy wrote: »

Seems like someone in the steelers PR dept told him to cop on which is good stuff.

Oh you can be sure about that. Because if someone is stupid enough to do what they did. They're not likely to suddenly grow a brain and come out with a statement like that.

Chucky the tree

I thought it was pretty funny on their part.

danthedolphin

HigginsJ wrote: »

Honest to god, words cannot describe the stupidity of some people

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000217697/article/pouncey-twins-don-free-hernandez-caps-at-club

It really was a facepalm moment. Even more annoying that one of those idiots plays for my beloved Phins.

kryogen

I was only just directed to the AH twitter account, where like the day after Llyods body was found AH did one of his regular, "good morning" tweets.

I just looks so cold now.

Just a normal day

Tristram

Made the Irish Times today (picked up from the NY Times).

When asked about players who are no longer with the New England Patriots, coach Bill Belichick usually says he will discuss only the names on his roster.

Until yesterday, Belichick had not spoken publicly about the arrest of Aaron Hernandez, a former Patriots tight end, on a first-degree murder charge last month. But the start of training camp presented an opportunity to address the Hernandez case, which has stunned the NFL and shaken up the Patriot organisation.

Belichick read from a statement for roughly seven minutes and took questions for 15 minutes, although he said he was unable to answer many of them because of the continuing investigation. He mentioned Hernandez’s name once and did not mention Odin Lloyd, whom Hernandez is charged with murdering, by name.

“I extend my sympathy to the ones who have been impacted,” said Belichick, who described the situation as sad “on so many levels.” He added: “A young man lost his life, and his family has suffered a tragic loss. There is no way to understate that.”

He also addressed, at least in a passing way, the fact that the Patriots drafted Hernandez after others around the league questioned his character.
“As the coach of the team, I’m primarily responsible for the people that we bring into the football operation,” Belichick said.

The Patriots released Hernandez shortly after he was arrested but before he was charged with first-degree murder. Hernandez also faces five gun-related charges and is being investigated as the possible gunman in a double homicide in Boston in July 2012, a month before he signed a contract extension worth more than $40 million.

Hernandez was scheduled for a hearing yesterday in his first-degree murder case, but it was delayed to allow the prosecution to collect more evidence for presentation to a grand jury. The next hearing is scheduled for August 22nd. Hernandez is being held without bail in a county jail in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts.

Belichick said he learned of the situation while he was out of the country.
“I and other members of the organisation were shocked and disappointed at what we had learned — having someone in your organisation that’s involved in a murder investigation is a terrible thing,” he said. “After consultation with ownership, we acted swiftly and decisively.”

When asked about defensive back Alfonzo Dennard, a felon still on the roster, Belichick declined to comment, again citing a continuing legal case. In February, Dennard was convicted of assaulting a police officer, an episode that occurred a week before the Patriots drafted him in 2012. He is to serve a 30-day jail sentence in March. Two weeks ago, Dennard was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, a possible parole violation. He is scheduled to have another hearing August 27th.

“Our players are generally highly motivated, gifted athletes who come from very different backgrounds,” Belichick said. “They’ve met many challenges along the way and have done things to get here. Sometimes they made bad or immature decisions.”
He added: “We try to look at every single situation on a case-by-case basis and try to do what’s best for the football team and best for the franchise. Most of the decisions have worked out. Some don’t. Over all, I’m proud of the hundreds of players that have come through this program.”
Referring to the Hernandez case, Belichick said, “I’m personally disappointed and hurt in a situation like this.”

The team’s owner, Robert K Kraft, recently said, “If this stuff is true, then I’ve been duped.” Belichick, when asked if he felt the same way, declined to comment. Belichick also declined to say whether he had retained legal counsel or had been subpoenaed.
He said the team had not been aware until recently of the July 2012 shooting being investigated for a possible link to Hernandez.

The team’s methods for evaluating players, Belichick said, have been in place since 2000. He said he was comfortable with the methods but might make a few minor changes.

“Obviously, this process is far from perfect, but it’s one we’ve used from 2000 until today,” he said. “Unfortunately, this most recent situation, with the charges that are involved, is not a good one on that record.”
No players spoke to the news media, but quarterback Tom Brady, when asked this week about Hernandez, told Sports Illustrated, “I have moved on.” Belichick expressed similar sentiments.

“We’ll learn from this terrible experience and become a better team from the lessons that we’ve learned,” Belichick said.
He added: “My comments are certainly not in proportion to the unfortunate and sad situation we have here. It’s time for the New England Patriots to move forward.”

Son Of A Vidic

When asked about defensive back Alfonzo Dennard, a felon still on the roster, Belichick declined to comment, again citing a continuing legal case.

The press conference yesterday was called to address the Hernandez situation only and no other issue. Of course there's always one dummy reporter that asks a totally unrelated question to Hernadez.


This is the full statement Bill gave yesterday..

I’m going to address the situation involving Aaron Hernandez today. I felt that it was important enough to do that prior to the start of camp.

It’s a sad day, really a sad day on so many levels. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim and I extend my sympathy really to everyone who has been impacted. A young man lost his life. His family has suffered a tragic loss and there’s no way to understate that.

When I was out of the country, I learned about the ongoing criminal investigation that involved one of our players, and I and other members of the organization were shocked and disappointed in what we had learned. Having someone in your organization that’s involved in a murder investigation is a terrible thing. After consultation with ownership, we acted swiftly and decisively.

Robert [Kraft] and his family and I, since I got here in 2000, have always emphasized the need for our team and our players and our organization to represent the community the right way both on and off the field. We’ve worked very hard together over the past 14 years to put together a winning team that’s a pillar in the community. I agree 100 percent with the comments that Robert has already made on the situation. I stand behind those as well.

This case involves an individual who happened to be a New England Patriot. We certainly do not condone unacceptable behavior, and this does not in any way represent the way that the New England Patriots want to do things. As the coach of the team, I’m primarily responsible for the people that we bring into the football operation. Our players are generally highly motivated and gifted athletes. They come from very different backgrounds. They’ve met many challenges along the way and have done things to get here. Sometimes they’ve made bad or immature decisions, but we try to look at every single situation on a case-by-case basis and try to do what’s best for the football team and what’s best for the franchise. Most of those decisions have worked out, but some don’t.

Overall, I’m proud of the hundreds of players that have come through this program, but I’m personally disappointed and hurt in a situation like this. As far as the whole process goes, I can tell you that we look at every player’s history from the moment we start discussing it, going back to his family, where he grew up, what his lifestyle was like, high school, college experiences. We evaluate his performance, his intelligence, his work ethic, his motivation, his maturity, his improvement, and we try to project that into our organization on a going-forward basis.

It combines a player’s personal history, but again, it also has to project what we think and how we think he will be in our environment. Obviously, this process is far from perfect, but it’s one that we’ve used from 2000 until today.

Unfortunately, this most recent situation with the charges that are involved is not a good one on that record. We’ll continue to evaluate the way we do things and the way we evaluate our players and we do it on a regular basis, not just at the beginning when they come in. We do it on a regular basis.

Personally, I’m challenged by decisions that affect the team on a daily basis, and I’m not perfect on that either, but I always try to do what I think is best for the football team.

We spent a considerable amount of time evaluating our current players and educating them on not only football, but many other life experiences and off-field subjects. We stress high character and we stress making good decisions. We’ll continue to do this and we’ll work to do a better job of it as we go forward. We’ll learn from this terrible experience that we’ve had. We’ll become a better team from the lessons that we’ve learned. We have so many players on this team that work hard, that do the right thing and that set a great example of being a professional and being a solid representative of this team and the community.

I know that there are a lot of questions, fair questions, about this subject and related subjects. I’m not trying to make the story disappear, but I respect the judicial process and been advised not to comment on ongoing legal proceedings. I’m advising our players to do the same thing. We have a system in justice that deals with criminal charges and ultimately the judge or the jury will determine the accountability. My comments are certainly not in proportion to the unfortunate and sad situation that we have here. I’ve been advised to address the subject once and it’s time for the New England Patriots to move forward.

Moving forward consists of what it’s always been here: to build a winning football team, be a strong pillar in the community, be a team that our fans can be proud of. That’s what we’re here for.

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4745477/full-transcript-of-belichicks-qa#more

Tristram

ESPN and NFL have the video up although I'm not sure it's in full?

Son Of A Vidic

Tristram wrote: »

ESPN and NFL have the video up although I'm not sure it's in full?

Full video and press conference on the Pats team page here...

http://www.patriots.com/media-center/videos/Belichick-724-Time-for-the-Patriots-to-move-on/0c2fdd59-e4ce-4a72-85e9-60d3c2ac11e6

Hazys

The Gangster in the Huddle

• Hernandez was a heavy user of angel dust, and had become so paranoid over the last year that he carried a gun wherever he went.

• He surrounded himself with a cohort of gangsters, and cut himself off from his family and teammates.

• Hernandez had so infuriated his head coach, Bill Belichick, with missed practices and thug-life stunts, that he was one misstep from being cut.

• Both his parents, Dennis and Terri, had criminal records, as did much of his extended family.

• Terri allegedly cheated on Dennis before his death with a violent drug dealer named Jeffrey Cummings, then married Cummings after Dennis died and moved him into the house she shared with Aaron.

• In college his coach (then-University of Florida head coach Urban Meyer) may have helped cover up failed drug tests, along with two violent incidents — an assault and a drive-by shootout outside a local bar.

Hazys

The whole article stinks of BS to me.

First tell-tail sign is "WITH RON BORGES" :rolleyes:

Second, "they’d kicked it at Rumor, popping bottles and pulling models up the steps of the VIP section of the Boston theater district’s hottest club." Rumor is a ghetto nightclub. There would be no models there, only girls that can be described as hoodrats. Boston theater district’s hottest club ffs

He seemed to know what was coming, but decided to make a stand: The driver’s side mirror of the Nissan was broken off, a sign that he might have gone down swinging. On a sand-and-gravel patch, Lloyd raised his arms in defense of the first shot, and was then hit in the back twice as he turned away and fell to the ground. The gunman pumped two more rounds into his chest for good measure.

How the fcuk do they know this? It'd be great if they could pass this info onto the Police.

(BB) He signed so many players bearing red flags they could have marched in Moscow’s May Day parade (Randy Moss, Donte Stallworth, et al.),

Donte Stallworth!! He never got into an ounce of trouble before or during his time at the Patriots. And his DUI case wasn't malicious, it was bad luck.

BB rarely signed players with flags. I can only think of Corey Dillon, Randy Moss and Haynesworth. If you compare the Patriots to any other teams, our players are angels. The Patriots are consistently at the bottom of the league when i comes to number of players getting arrested.



I don't buy it. It doesn't make sense. Why would the Patriots give him such an big contract, full of guarantees with zero bad behavior get out of jail free (pardon the turn of phrase) incentives for the Patriots, if there was any indication he was missing practices not to mention using angel dust.

This is the same high integrity magazine that put the Boston bomber portrayed as a rockstar on the front page of their magazine. Its a fcuking music magazine trying to make sales....not to mention again Ron Borges contributed

Son Of A Vidic

You know what they say, paper never refuses ink. Anyway Rolling Stone? Come on lets be honest here, it is Rolling Stone after all. Which is not exactly a bastion of journalistic integrity. But they are morphing into quite a nice little Troll rag imo.

Arawn

Hazys wrote: »

Ras-I Dowling cut, even with the uncertainty over Dennard it looks like we don't need him. A disappointing 2nd round CB who never could stay healthy, its a pity because he had so much potential.

Pats now have 8 CBs on the roster:
Aqib Talib, Alfonzo Dennard, Kyle Arrington, Logan Ryan, Marquice Cole, Stephon Morris, LeQuan Lewis, Justin Green

I epect us to carry 5: Aqib Talib, Alfonzo Dennard, Kyle Arrington, Logan Ryan, Marquice Cole.

Dowling being cut probably says a lot about how good a preseason Logan Ryan is having.

Hi, I see you've stumbled into the wrong thread little sparrow, The thread you meant to post in is that way>

randomCluster

I found the Rolling Stone article very interesting and I thought it was balanced. Fair enough, the build up to events on the night in question involves a lot of conjecture and there is undoubtedly some artistic license. However, the information about his formative years in Dorset and his time at Florida was quite informative and offered some insight to his life outside of the NFL.

TO.

randomCluster wrote: »

I found the Rolling Stone article very interesting and I thought it was balanced. Fair enough, the build up to events on the night in question involves a lot of conjecture and there is undoubtedly some artistic license. However, the information about his formative years in Dorset and his time at Florida was quite informative and offered some insight to his life outside of the NFL.

Ron Borges wrote it and you should take most of it with a pinch of salt. After the article was written there was plenty of discussion in the media saying that a lot of it was hear say and possibly not true. Which doesn't surprise me with Borges. The guy is nothing but a hack and most New England fans will agree with me. He also hates Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft so there is no surprise he would make up sh1t to put the Patriots in bad light in that article. He is nothing but a clown.

Hazys

TO. wrote: »

Ron Borges wrote it and you should take most of it with a pinch of salt. After the article was written there was plenty of discussion in the media saying that a lot of it was hear say and possibly not true. Which doesn't surprise me with Borges. The guy is nothing but a hack and most New England fans will agree with me. He also hates Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft so there is no surprise he would make up sh1t to put the Patriots in bad light in that article. He is nothing but a clown.

I've listened to a couple of Ron Borges interviews after the article and he's bact-tracking faster than Darrelle Revis

TO.

Hazys wrote: »

I've listened to a couple of Ron Borges interviews after the article and he's bact-tracking faster than Darrelle Revis

Yeah same even the day after the article was released he was on NFL AM and contradicted himself twice and when challenged about validity on certain things he refused to comment or dodged it. Dude is a grade A hack.

Paully D

He seems to stand by comments he made re: Belichick.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/08/30/ron-borges-defends-rolling-stones-aaron-hernandez-article-on-felger-mazz/

Ron Borges co-authored the Rolling Stone article on Aaron Hernandez that was released this week and has drawn reactions from coast to coast.

Locally, Patriots president Jonathan Kraft said on 98.5 The Sports Hub air that there were several factual inaccuracies in the story. Borges went on Felger & Mazz, with Dan Shaughnessy filling in for Michael Felger, on Friday to stand by the reporting in the story.

Kraft specifically said that Bill Belichick assured him that Aaron Hernandez did not confide in the coach that he felt his life was in danger. Borges said he believed that Belichick told Kraft that statement, but that doesn’t mean the coach was telling the truth.

Well, Bill said he never taped anybody’s hand signals,” Borges said, referencing SpyGate. “Well he did, didn’t he? And then they had the tape, and then the commissioner said he didn’t tell the truth, or the commissioner said, ‘I don’t believe this statement.’ That’s all I can say.

Borges said the truth will be exposed when those involved with the alleged conversation are called to testify under oath in Hernandez’s eventual trial.

“I guess Jonathan Kraft is going to be surprised to find out who helped [Hernandez] find the apartment, but that’s for a year from now,” Borges said.

Son Of A Vidic

Paully D wrote: »

Well, Bill said he never taped anybody’s hand signals,” Borges said, referencing SpyGate.

But Bill didn't tape anybody, Matt Walsh the video assistant did. The leagues 31 other team video assistants heeded Goodell's memo and stopped when told. The memo warned all teams about their taping procedures and it highlighted the new rules regarding same. Borges the professional Troll, is really grasping at straws now by dragging that up.

So Borges claims Bill got a player a safe house, after the player tells him his life is in danger. So a mult-million dollar star and an offensive pillar on the team, has his life threatened. And not only does Bill not even tell the head of team team security, but he doesn't even notify the police. Does Borges think we came down in the last shower?

Johnathan kraft has already highlighted some of the bullshít

"I read that article, and there's so much in it, and it reads like it's all factual, people were there, yet there are no named," Kraft said. "It's all unnamed, and yet it appears like people are in some very private moments and got the dialogue just right. Nothing is sourced, and reading the article, there were three things or two, three, four things in particular that I saw and I just know are completely factually inaccurate, I mean not close to being factually accurate. Just inaccurate. So I look at it and I read the article, and you wonder how much else in there is."

Yes Johnathan, it is what they call in writing circles as a work of fiction. Nothing is linked, there are no direct quotes and there are no names from any of these alleged 'sources' ect. Trolling of the highest level.

TO.

Paully D wrote: »

He seems to stand by comments he made re: Belichick.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/08/30/ron-borges-defends-rolling-stones-aaron-hernandez-article-on-felger-mazz/

Ron Borges co-authored the Rolling Stone article on Aaron Hernandez that was released this week and has drawn reactions from coast to coast.

Locally, Patriots president Jonathan Kraft said on 98.5 The Sports Hub air that there were several factual inaccuracies in the story. Borges went on Felger & Mazz, with Dan Shaughnessy filling in for Michael Felger, on Friday to stand by the reporting in the story.

Kraft specifically said that Bill Belichick assured him that Aaron Hernandez did not confide in the coach that he felt his life was in danger. Borges said he believed that Belichick told Kraft that statement, but that doesn’t mean the coach was telling the truth.

Well, Bill said he never taped anybody’s hand signals,” Borges said, referencing SpyGate. “Well he did, didn’t he? And then they had the tape, and then the commissioner said he didn’t tell the truth, or the commissioner said, ‘I don’t believe this statement.’ That’s all I can say.

Borges said the truth will be exposed when those involved with the alleged conversation are called to testify under oath in Hernandez’s eventual trial.

“I guess Jonathan Kraft is going to be surprised to find out who helped [Hernandez] find the apartment, but that’s for a year from now,” Borges said.

Habitual Liars tend to believe their own sh1t. Just google Borges and you will see the type of sh1te he has come out with in the past. How he still has a job any type of journalist is beyond me. I always wondered if there was enough clowns out their supporting him and believing him to keep him in a job. Or do these outlets like him writing for them just to be controversial and drive sensationalism.

Hazys

He is a disgrace of a journalist, he was fired from the Boston Globe for plagiarism.

Just look at his wikipedia page, 90% of the page is 'Criticism'

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_Borges

He's a sh1t stirrer.

randomCluster

Never let the truth get in the way of a good story! Regardless of Borges, there is still the unanswered question as to how much Belichick knew what was going on, or indeed wanted to know. He's the man in charge, he drafted him and the buck has to stop somewhere. Perhaps as the article says Hernandez was just plain uncontrollable when away from the team. To be honest though, I don't think we'll ever get the truth about what happened that night or what, if anything, Belichick knew.

Unfortunately it's unlikely to be the last murder charge involving an NFL player.

Son Of A Vidic

randomCluster wrote: »

there is still the unanswered question as to how much Belichick knew what was going on, or indeed wanted to know. He's the man in charge, he drafted him and the buck has to stop somewhere.

The man in charge? The man in charge of what? Is he in charge of a team of players or is he in charge of every players life outside of football? If you leave your place of work, is your boss responsible for who you hang out with? Is your boss accountable for what you do with whom you hang out with? And should your boss take any sort of blame for who you might murder, maim or injure outside of the workplace? Now if anyone can answer yes to any of that? Then they need to catch the next flight back to 'planet unrealistic'.

randomCluster

Hernandez and I are two different animals. I wasn't taking selfies of myself in college whilst holding a gun. Belichick drafted Hernandez when other teams took him off their boards because of his questionable character issues. He knew he was dealing with a flawed character and he's responsible for bringing him into the organisation. I'm sure any well run team will keep an eye on their multi-million dollar assets off the pitch - it'd constitute too much of a risk not to. Hernandez's old team mate Tebow sure as hell wasn't brought in for his QB skills. As for my boss, well unfortunately my salary indicates that I am eminently replaceable. Therefore, it makes little financial sense to monitor my social life or what I post on facebook.

Masked Man

One of the three points in the article that Jonathan Kraft said was wrong was that BB had threatened to cut AH. He said that under the Kraft's ownership the Pats have only re-signed two drafted players after two years of playing. One was Gronk and the other was Hernandez. The Patriots do not commit as much money as they did to AH that early. It just doesn't happen, BB and the Krafts simply don't like doing it. We can speculate about what the organisation knew, but one of the facts is that they gave him a big contract. I'm more than willing to give the Patriots the benefit of the doubt on what they knew.

Chucky the tree

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

The man in charge? The man in charge of what? Is he in charge of a team of players or is he in charge of every players life outside of football? If you leave your place of work, is your boss responsible for who you hang out with? Is your boss accountable for what you do with whom you hang out with? And should your boss take any sort of blame for who you might murder, maim or injure outside of the workplace? Now if anyone can answer yes to any of that? Then they need to catch the next flight back to 'planet unrealistic'.

Being an NFL player isn't the same as a random day job so the comparisons aren't suitable.

Son Of A Vidic

randomCluster wrote: »

Hernandez and I are two different animals. I wasn't taking selfies of myself in college whilst holding a gun. Belichick drafted Hernandez when other teams took him off their boards because of his questionable character issues. He knew he was dealing with a flawed character and he's responsible for bringing him into the organisation.

The facts remain that prior to all this kicking off, no one had any indication about what he was really about. Players with flawed & questionable character have and will continue to be drafted in the NFL every year. Prior to the draft, the only rumors that surrounded Hernandez was the issue of him having smoked pot and having one or two bad friends.

Breaking News: College kid may have smoked pot and have a couple of dodgy friends.

Prior to the draft, no one mentioned or suggested that he was potential murderer and no one mentioned that he had a gun obsession.The photos of Hernandez posing with a gun was leaked after the murder. That picture shocked everyone. The only questions that really need to be answered here is, how much did the college and his coach know and conceal about his behaviour.

randomCluster wrote: »

I'm sure any well run team will keep an eye on their multi-million dollar assets off the pitch - it'd constitute too much of a risk not to.

The Irish police could not keep tabs on Larry Murphy. Who is a convicted rapist, kidnapper and suspected serial killer. That's just one man and you think an NFL team can monitor 61 players? Absolutely ridiculous.

If you think any NFL franchise has the manpower and resources to monitor, the out of hours activity of a 53 man roster and the 8 man practice squad. Then you are seriously, seriously deluded pal.

Apart from the serious legal issues and breaches of an individuals right to privacy, monitoring outside their place of work would constitute. The National Football League Players Association (Players Union) would have a field day and bury a team in the courts.

randomCluster wrote: »

Hernandez's old team mate Tebow sure as hell wasn't brought in for his QB skills.

Eh, whatever you say there bud. But I think I'll just let that work of fiction continue to play out in your head.

Chucky the tree wrote: »

Being an NFL player isn't the same as a random day job so the comparisons aren't suitable.

You need the understand that being an NFL player is not a hobby or recreational activity. It is a job and a career, like your job and your career. Yes they are blessed to get paid for what they enjoy doing. But the fact that they play football, does nothing to change the fact that they are employed by the teams they play for and are therefore employees.

So once again I ask...

Is a Coach in charge of a team of players, or is he in charge of every players life outside of football?

If you leave your place of work, is your boss responsible for who you hang out with?

Is your boss accountable for what you do with whom you hang out with?

And should your boss take any sort of blame for who you might murder, maim or injure outside of the workplace?