For seven years the public has become increasingly infatuated with the Aaron Hernandez murder case. A strong and driven young athlete and a fresh face for the New England Patriots, had his invincible persona shattered when allegations of his involvement in the murder of close friend, Odin Loyd, surfaced in 2013. The recently released Netflix Docuseries, “Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez,” offers a host of possibilities to explain how a man who seemingly had everything lived such a twisted double life.
Aside from CTE (Chronic traumatic encephalopathy), sexual abuse, domestic violence, and family instability, the series presents first hand accounts of teammates who witnessed Hernandez’s supposed struggle with his sexuality. Intimate details were recounted by individuals who participated in the Netflix original, offering viewers a glimpse into Aaron’s private life. After completing suicide in 2017, Aaron Hernandez was never given the opportunity to address many of the rumors that had been circulating about his sexuality since the time his case gained national attention.
The series not only outed Hernandez, but it also made blatant assumptions about his sexual identity without him ever being able to confirm or deny the statements being made. The trauma that was undoubtably triggered by sexual assault in his early childhood was enough to convey the damaging impact such events would have had on his life course, without the need for assumption or slander.
One might argue that the image of a suspected murderer should be granted no mercy. However, the harm inflicted on the innocent surviving family is irrefutable. A family whose reality was shattered seven years ago, has now been re-traumatized by an allegation that will never be confirmed.
I thought this piece was really well thought out and put together, I honestly agree with you on the issues that documentary such as this create perceptions of a person exacerbate exacerbate certain issues that really shouldn’t be discussed such as his sexual identity when he’s not here to voice his opinion. I think what Hollywood fails to realize is that they often re-victimize family, victims and anyone else that has experience these forms of abuse