Earlier this month the three part docu-series, Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez was released on Netflix. The show looks into the life of a talented, young football star who was convicted of murder and ultimately committed suicide. 

In the 2010 NFL Draft, the New England Patriots drafted 20 year old Aaron Hernadez in the fourth round. In 2012 Hernandez made a Superbowl appearance with the Patriots which led him to a five year, $39.58 million contract. $15.95 million was guaranteed along with a signing bonus of $12.5 million in 2013. The $12.5 million signing bonus was the largest ever received by an NFL tight end according to Distracifiy.com.

Shortly after Hernadez’s success on the field, in the 2013 off season, he was convicted of the first-degree murder of Odin Lloyd. He was sentenced to serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

While Hernadez was on trial for Lloyd’s murder he was also indicted for the double homicide in 2012 of Daniel de Abreu and Safio Furtado. Days after being acquitted of the double homicide, Hernandez was found dead in his cell. His death was ruled a suicide, which didn’t sit right with his fiance Shayanna Jenkins. 

Aaron’s older brother, Dennis Jonathan Jr, described their childhood as being traumatic with their alcoholic father who was very abusive. According to Dennis, Hernandez was sexually molested growing up by his babysitter who forced him to perform oral sex from the time he was six years old and continued into his teenage years. 

Hernadez’s father passed away when he was only 16 years old, thus beginning his downward spiral, according to close friends and family.

The look into Aaron Hernadez’s life through interviews of close friends, former teammates and family left fans and viewers shocked by the events that took place throughout his young life. The documentary has brought up a lot of controversy around Hernadez’s conviction, mental health, and sexuality.

According to The Washington Post, Aaron Hernadez suffered from the most severe case of stage three Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. The damage done to his brain was caused by his concussions and blows to the head in football. Researchers at Boston University revealed at a medical conference that CTE affects decision making, judgments, and cognition,  

The disease provides no excuse for Hernadez’s actions, but it played a part in his short temper and bad decision making. Some disagree with the indictment, saying he was not in the right state of mind to make rational decisions. However, many football players and athletes live with the same disease and do not commit such terrible crimes. 

Hernadez’s sexuality is a big topic in the documentary and is heavily discussed by his former high school teammate, Dennis SanSoucie. SanSoucie claimed to have sexual relations with Hernadez throughout high school, but it was kept a secret because of the backlash they thought they would receive from their team.  

 Former Patriots teammate, Ryan O’Callaghan, who came out as gay after his NFL carer was over in 2011, was brought in to talk about his experience working with Hernandez. O’Callaghan said “I think the whole story about Aaron is really unfortunate because you don’t know what drove him to do these things,” he continues, “You know, if he was able to be himself and have some of these negative things not in his life, what kind of difference would that have made?”

Throughout the series, a conversation between Hernandez and Jenkins, his fiancée, is shown describing the drugs that were given to him before games in college and the NFL. Hernadez says, “You know what’s crazy? They banned from the league, saying you could only take it if you have a serious injury or something … Guess who they gave that to every game? Me.” Hernandez goes on to tell Jenkins, “My body’s so f—-d up, honestly. Just from football, you know what I mean?”

Brain injuries are very common in football and the long term mental health of athletes is frightening to young players. The mental health of athletes on and off the field is something that needs to be looked at closer.