In the years since Aaron Hernandez died in 2017, after being convicted of the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, multiple players have commented on the narrative surrounding Hernandez. The latest to do so is his former Florida Gators teammate Tim Tebow.
“I think he had a different side than a lot of how the media just portrays it,” Tebow said regarding his former teammate on In Depth with Graham Bensinger.
Tebow and Hernandez were teammates with the Gators from 2007 through the 2009 season. They won a National Championship together, as Tebow won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award twice. Meanwhile, Hernandez was a first-team All-American and won the John Mackey award as the best tight end in the nation.
“I think just trying to sensationalize something doesn’t make it accurate or good. And I think there’s too much of that, that’s been sensationalized rather than just kind of tell the root of the story,” Tebow said in elaboration to Bensinger in regards to his first comments.
The media has had a major role in the telling of the Hernandez story. In 2020, Netflix released a documentary called Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, and the FX series American Sports Story is also centered around the story of Hernandez.
“What do you think gets lost in the media coverage of him?” Bensinger asked Tebow.
“I just, I think telling some of the other side of what he came through and what he came through. And what he worked through and was working on,” Tebow responded.
Accounts have been made regarding Hernandez suffering from CTE, his upbringing, potential childhood abuse, and other mental health issues. Tebow has pushed back, though, on the overall narrative. The focus has been on the murder of Lloyd and the 2012 double homicide that Hernandez was ultimately acquitted of.
The interview ended with the former Gator quarterback being asked why it was so important to him not to say anything negative about his former teammate.
“Why would it be important to me to? What does that help? He's got a family. The victims have families. Who am I to think I can speak into that?” Tebow continued, noting, “And I also cared very, very much for him and his family, and it hurts. Every bit of it hurts.”
The Hernandez situation was tragic and clearly affected Tebow. Still, lives have been forever impacted by the decisions of one individual, and nothing can be said to change that.
