Full story: Aaron Hernandez: Patriots tight end violent evolution via Rolling Stone
This summer, football fans and anyone who watched the news heard about Aaron Hernandez, the New England Patriots tight end who was arrested for the murder of Odin Lloyd. Hernandez entered the NFL in 2010, troubled but immensely physically talented. Other teams were concerned about his psychological issues (he tested 1 out of 10 in social maturity) and his multiple problems with following the rules while in college. He failed multiple drug tests, and punched a waiter in the ear at a restaurant, rupturing the man’s eardrum.
But the Patriots took a risk on him, hoping the team’s veteran leadership would help him mature. He quickly became a star, and just last year signed a five-year, $35 million contract. He bought a home in Bristol, Connecticut, close to the team, and to the casual NFL observer, had grown out of his immature ways. And now he sits in jail, awaiting his trial for first degree murder, to which he has plead not guilty. This in depth article by Paul Solotaroff and Ron Borges covers his upbringing, his young adulthood, and how someone so gifted could end up throwing it all away.