Are the New England Patriots the moral standard?
Jun 26, 2013, 10:03 PM | Updated: 10:24 pm
Aaron Hernandez has been charged with murder.
Normally, when a story like this breaks, a team announces “let’s allow the judicial process to play itself out before we jump to any conclusions.”
But not the New England Patriots.
Not two hours after a cuffed Hernandez was led from his home to the squad car, before we knew at 11:30 that he was facing murder charges and not obstruction of justice charges, the Patriots had already cut him.
Makes you wonder:
Did the Patriots know the most serious charge was coming? After all, I’m not sure any team would outright cut a star player for obstructing justice. When Aaron Hernandez drove to the stadium this week, as we watched him do, did he confess things to the owner or coaches that day, things he’s clearly going to refuse to confess in a courtroom?
Or:
Are the Patriots really that morally upstanding? The team that was involved in Spygate doesn’t want to be associated with any kind of criminal investigation into one of their players? If so, morally speaking, that certainly elevates the Patriots above the Arizona Cardinals, who’ve agreed to let Daryl Washington have his day in court. Granted, we’re talking murder over assault with Hernandez, but then we didn’t know there were going to be murder charges until after the Pats had cut him. Unless, of course, they already knew (see above scenario).
Furthermore, the Patriots could have saved millions of dollars just by waiting until Hernandez missed football-related activities due to his incarceration. The NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement allows teams to nullify contracts and recoup bonus money in the case of off-field transgressions but only if football-related activities are missed. The Pats didn’t wait. They cut him immediately. Perhaps owner Robert Kraft isn’t concerned about a cap hit right now, or paying in full Hernandez’s contract to an eight-month-old who could potentially lose her father to a murder conviction. If so, that’s a pretty cool move, Bob.
Or:
Are the Patriots that intolerant of distractions? This is a team that cares nothing about loyalty. Bill Belichick runs a business of winning. From Richard Seymour to Lawyer Milloy to Wes Welker, the moment Belichick doubts that a player is cost effective, no matter how popular he might be with the fan base, he generally lets the player go. Better to err early than late. Murder or obstruction, perhaps it didn’t matter to Belichick. Hernandez had become a migraine headache he didn’t want to contend with.
Or:
Did the Patriots see a pattern of behavior developing in the now-wealthier Hernandez? Hernandez has a bit of a red-flag past, having been linked to gang life and drug use. And apparently, the night of Odin Lloyd’s murder, Hernandez left his house with a gun in hand and was overheard saying “I can’t trust anyone anymore.” Did the Patriots see their tight end heading down a dark path? Perhaps, and admittedly this is a BIG reach, part of the reason Tim Tebow was brought to Foxborough was to steer his college teammate back on the right path, as he’d done once before.
Or:
And this is probably the answer. Did Boston police tip the Patriots off to what was coming before the charges were publicly made?
A lot of unanswered questions. I suppose we’ll have to let justice run its course, even if the Patriots have decided they know enough.
