The former tight end for the New England Patriots has found himself in serious trouble over the last few months. On August 22, Aaron Hernandez was indicted for the murder of his friend, 27-year-old Odin Lloyd, after his arrest June 26.

Hernandez has raised several red flags in the past, but many of his coaches and authorities chose to overlook them.When Hernandez attended the University of Miami in college, his football coach, Urban Meyer, preferred to handle punishments privately, which shielded Hernandez from the consequences of his many transgressions, such as failed drug tests, bar fights, and at least one alleged shooting. This pattern of evading disciplinary action continued with the Patriots, when Hernandez allegedly shot his friend, Alexander Bradley in the face, and received no criminal penalties.

“Can you blame Hernandez for possibly thinking that he could get out of murder?” questioned Justin Peters, reporter for slate.com.

Fortunately for Hernandez, the evidence that the prosecution has acquired against him is almost purely circumstantial- nothing solid enough for a strong case. Even their witnesses aren’t exactly credible. Former accomplices Carlos Ortiz and Ernest Wallace are likely to be brought forth for questioning by the prosecution, but their pasts are highly questionable.

“I know he’s being tried for murder, but he will probably be able to hire a good enough lawyer to get off,” said junior at North Harford High School, Alec Presley.

Owner of the Patriots, Robert Kraft, has tried to make some sort of amends by enabling fans to trade in their Hernandez jerseys in exchange for another Patriot jersey for one day only. The Patriots lost over $250,000 in this endeavor, due to the large turnout of about 1200.

“He’s basically trying to eliminate an entire player from their franchise, which I think is pretty bold,” stated senior Malone Mislak. “Still, to be fair, they should have extended the time to swap jerseys, so people didn’t have to wait all day just to get a new jersey. It’s not like the Patriots don’t make enough money already.”

On the other hand, prices for Hernandez jerseys have skyrocketed to hundreds of dollars on ebay. Some sport these not-so-fashionable jerseys as a form of rebellion, says cbssports.com.

The Patriots’ coaches and teammates have struggled in an effort to avoid interviews and questions. A notable interview with the Patriots’ current tight-end, Rob Gronkowski, exhibited his unwillingness to even comment on the subject. When the subject arose during an interview with Dan Dahler, Gronkowski continued to insist, “Next question”, then proceeded to walk away when Dahler pursued it further.

“…Gronkowski got up, almost left, and then returned when the reporter promised to change the subject,” reported nfl.com.

Hernandez had it all four months ago- fame, fortune, friends. Still, not even all of these things could keep him content. Some may say this was due to a psychological issue, seeing as Hernandez reportedly scored a one out of ten on the NFL psychological exam, but perhaps he should have focused on more fulfilling endeavors.

“This situation could have been totally different if he had put more effort into being a moral person,” said junior Alex Bowen. “If he had seen a therapist, maybe he wouldn’t be going to jail, and they could have helped him through his problems.”