Invoice Belichick, Aaron Hernandez. Getty Pictures(2)
American Sports activities Story questions whether or not these in Aaron Hernandez‘s private {and professional} life contributed to his tragic decline — however the actor who performs Invoice Belichick doesn’t suppose it’s that easy.
“A few issues I might say I do know to be true is that this complete story broke his coronary heart. It broke Invoice Belichick’s coronary heart,” Norbert Leo Butz solely advised Us Weekly about how the pinnacle coach of the New England Patriots reacted to Hernandez’s 2017 demise. “It broke the center of each participant on that workforce and all Patriots followers.”
Butz, 27, identified that the occasions that led to Hernandez’s decline weren’t as black and white, including, “It’s a painful story. However I’ll say that Belichick’s complicity on this tragedy was of … I don’t need to say ignorance.”
Hernandez, who’s performed by Josh Andrés Rivera on American Sports activities Story, began his profession as a good finish with the College of Florida Gators earlier than his stint with the New England Patriots from 2010 to 2013. Off the soccer discipline, Hernandez confronted a number of authorized points earlier than his demise.
Soccer followers have mourned a heartbreaking quantity of NFL stars in 2024. In February, Tony Hutson handed away at age 48, based on an obituary shared on the time. No reason for demise was given. “Misplaced one among my favourite teammates and nice pals in Tony Hutson final night time,” Hutson’s former teammate Randall Godfrey wrote […]
After turning into an NFL star, Hernandez was arrested in 2013 for the homicide of Odin Lloyd and was convicted two years later. He was discovered responsible of first-degree homicide in 2015 and was subsequently charged with the double murder of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. Hernandez was acquitted in 2017 and days later was discovered useless at age 27 in his jail cell. His demise was dominated a suicide.
A number of components contributed to Hernandez’s tragic demise — and never all of it concerned being on the soccer discipline. American Sports activities Story, nonetheless, launched Belichick, 72, within the fourth episode and confirmed Hernandez experiencing a number of head accidents after executing performs on the route of the pinnacle coach.
“The issues that affected Aaron had been systemic. They didn’t come from anybody particular person. Invoice Belichick has mentioned time and again — and I respect this in regards to the man — that he had a single job and that was to win soccer video games. That was actually the job title,” Butz continued. “I respect that he didn’t aspire to be a psychologist to his gamers or perhaps a father determine or an educator or a babysitter or a diplomat. He was there to educate and to win soccer video games.”
Hernandez was posthumously identified with CTE a.okay.a persistent traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative mind dysfunction believed to be brought on by repeated head accidents. Some have questioned whether or not the situation could have affected his habits.
Bureau of Prisons/Getty Pictures; FX For followers of TV reveals primarily based on true occasions, the autumn lineup has a number of standouts to look ahead to which might be pulled straight from the headlines. FX is debuting Ryan Murphy‘s newest restricted collection titled American Sports activities Story: Aaron Hernandez. Based mostly on the “Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Soccer Inc.” podcast, […]
“As we glance again on the tragedy 10 or 15 or 20 years later, we see a number of the systemic issues. This concept that there have been precautions to take that weren’t taken when it comes to defending children’ brains. Or that psychological well being issues as a lot as bodily health. These items at the moment are getting some fairness,” Butz continued. “I hope the takeaways are that we will nonetheless have this nice American sport — this billion-dollar business — and there could be progress within the sport.”
Butz’s costar Thomas Sadoski has mentioned that he desires American Sports activities Story to be a wake-up name for the NFL. As for Butz, he want to see athletes throughout all areas of sports activities be shielded from long-lasting results on their well-being.
“I can’t communicate to what the precise insurance policies must change. However I believe — not simply in soccer — we have to proceed to place the human being first after which the game second. That simply must be the place organizations begin from,” he advised Us. “These athletes will not be commodities, they’re not livestock they usually’re not puppets. They’re human beings. So the human being must be protected and revered before everything. That features psychological well being.”
FX’s American Sports activities Story: Aaron Hernandez labored laborious to make the solid resemble their real-life counterparts. The primary season of American Sports activities Story, which stars Josh Andrés Rivera, debuted in September 2024, is predicated on the “Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Soccer Inc.” podcast, which targeted on Hernandez’s time as a good finish with the College […]
The way in which American Sports activities Story approached telling Hernandez’s story gave Butz hope.
“We have now come a great distance,” he mentioned. “The truth that we now know CTE is actual and we will now take a look at these brains and say, ‘That is irrefutable proof that there’s harm in these brains. And it’s fully tied to a number of concussions.’”
He continued, “I don’t know what which means. You possibly can’t get round the truth that it’s a full-contact sport. That’s what it’s. That’s what’s thrilling about it. That’s what’s harmful about it. It’s that component of hazard that makes tens of millions and tens of millions and tens of millions and tens of millions of individuals watch the game. However these are human beings on the market. In order that they have to return first. Folks first, sports activities second.”
American Sports activities Story: Aaron Hernandez airs on FX Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET. New episodes stream the subsequent day on Hulu.
