• Amy Laskowski

    Senior Writer Twitter Profile

    Photo of Amy Laskowski. A white woman with long brown hair pulled into a half up, half down style and wearing a burgundy top, smiles and poses in front of a dark grey backdrop.

    Amy Laskowski is a senior writer at Boston University. She is always hunting for interesting, quirky stories around BU and helps manage and edit the work of BU Today’s interns. She did her undergrad at Syracuse University and earned a master’s in journalism at the College of Communication in 2015. Profile

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There are 21 comments on Was Patriots’ Hernandez a Time Bomb?

  1. Aaron Hernandez is very likely a serial killer, an evil animal. the taxpayers of the commonwealth will pay to clothe, feed, and house this animal for decades, it’s unjust that he will be treated so well, he should face the same fate Odin Lloyd did. This doesn’t have much to do with pro sports, or college or pro teams being responsible for anything other than trying to win, anything further is laughable.

      1. Um What, I take it you’re not keeping up on the case very closely. There is evidence that Hernandez is involved with multiple murders and even more murder attempts in the past. I don’t know if technically that makes him a serial killer. (I don’t know if more particular personality traits or motivations have to be involved for that label.) But I would not be surprised that when all is said and done, it’s a known fact that Hernandez has murdered multiple people.

  2. People who still have the good sense to recognize the reason we stereotype people look at this guy as potentially violent just based on his appearance and past behavior alone. If a guy like him with his reputation and a couple of his thug friends take you for a ride in the middle of the night something bad will likely happen to you even it is only a black eye; trust me they are not taking you to Denny’s for late night ham and eggs. His violent behavior has nothing to do with the cultural environment within the NFL and nothing needs to be fixed here. You cannot change a leopard’s spots. When you see a guy like this coming after you trust your instincts and run! Do not waste time trying to change him. BF Skinner tried and failed too.

  3. Are you serious, BU Today? This is the kind of speculative analysis and sensationalism that has plagued your counterparts in cable news. Fatherless minority from a poor background… of course he killed someone! How could we NOT see this coming!? And adding a picture of him shirtless was a really nice touch. Are we to believe that his tattoos were somehow a tipoff to the murderous rage that laid beneath? I’ve sat quietly by as friends, pundits, and the Pats have thrown this guy under the bus with little concern for the facts of the case, because it’s their right to do so (and hey, maybe he’s guilty). But, I have come to expect much more from you than a speculative interview with an expert who has as much insight into this particular case as anyone watching the news. Not good enough, BU Today. Here’s hoping you do better tomorrow.

    1. I don’t think the photo is showing him negatively at all, or trying to. Tattoos are a very personal form of self expression. I think the photo and the tats show Hernandez more as a person as opposed to the celebrity professional football player you see on the field every Sunday.

    2. The photo is obviously a portrait that is available publicly and for which Mr. Hernandez posed and must have approved for release. If, like Raul, you want to argue with any premise that might hold Mr. Hernandez responsible for his actions — whatever they may come to be shown to be — would it be preferable to show him in a football uniform or being arrested?

  4. I agree with Raul’s outrage, although not with his surprise at this sort of article coming from BU Today. I’ve been really, really sad at the journalistic standards of BU’s daily publication, this year more than most.

  5. I am surprised the information from this article (http://www.bu.edu/today/2009/new-evidence-links-head-trauma-brain-disease-in-football-players/) was not included. To quote: “CTE sufferers display such symptoms as memory impairment, emotional instability, erratic behavior, depression, and problems with impulse control.” This is what kind of discussion I was expecting when I opened the link to today’s article, not a discussion of stereotypical background information and how that might possibly cause Hernandez to commit such a violent crime.

    1. Not often at such an early age…and I think the point is that,regardless of the cause of such alleged violent behavior —– Was anyone seeing signs of it, and if so, what were they prepared to do about it?

  6. Let’s think about this for a second: people do not make decisions lightly especially for a star on their team. Don’t you think that the Pats and some fans thought reflectively about the case and the evidence stacked against Hernandez before cutting him? Raul, you seem to discredit the fact that this man could have killed someone in order to make your point. Naylor is more than just an average person watching the TV– he is a highly experienced sport psychologist. He has been educated to avoid sensationalism in his work with athletes. He gave an expert view in why this individual not minority may have committed this crime. So instead of insulting BU today and an expert psychologist- please think about the case logically and avoid making your own speculative point.

  7. In peace, I’ve been that guy that the NFL has brought in to speak to their players/rookies on various issues (Men violence against women)was our topic as well as redefining masculinity in its roles in pro sports.We have three hours a years with these players, then they follow up with a psychologist that does the assessments and make recommendations if needed. These players got a job to keep thats the point, “do what you got to do to keep your job” and for players I’ve heard one say during a conversation on bystander intervention ” why should I look out for him when I know he may get my spot, or one of us may get traded, I’m not here to make friends” Trust and Honesty is a conversation that the rookie symposium need to address and we need more then 3 hours a years to see the players perform to their expectations both on and off the field. Live convo!!! we need to start speaking with the AAU coaches, community centers where these athletes developed and observe the atmosphere there and analize the findings and compare it to your coaching philosophy or organization mission. Make sure it fits. Many teams are to flexible (winnings, $$$) and many 20 something plus year old young man who’s been told over and over by teachers, parents, clergy,coaches, neighborhood, journalist,and ooohhh yeaaah ! fans (short for fanatics) that they’re the answer to a city might feel entitled at some point in their life. Mentors may give the mentees the permission to explore the “f” word, (feelings) get you’z mind out of the gutter (i did write you’z)and when that happens resources are provided and the intervention happens. As they we say in sport coaching ” prepare so we won’t have to repair” Again with peace 1

  8. The Pats should have never put him on the team in the first place because they knew in his past, for example, he smoked drugs, had an anger management problem, and really bad friends, gang wise.

    1. Get real. This is about making money by having the best team, which means the best players playing the best ball. Everything else — signs and all — can be overlooked absent any “current problems.” But what about the shooting in which Mr. Hernandez was allegedly involved in Miami in February 2013, which he allegedly shot “a friend” who lost his eye as a result? The victim in the shooting would not identify his assailant, though they were riding in a car together, but filed a lawsuit against Mr. Hernandez on June 13 — before Odin Lloyd was murdered. This isn’t about race, or upbringing, or being a professional athlete with tatoos! It’s about a person making bad choices repeatedly and his profession hoping to use that player until they can’t — a disabling injury, a strategic trade, or an arrest for murder.

  9. One can disregard ethnic, socioeconomic, and physiognomic/cultural factors and still answer the article’s lead question affirmatively. Recruiters from Florida’s institutions of ‘higher ed’ have not proven themselves as particularly discriminating judges of character (The Phoenix is out of print but check the sports blotter for a window into this subculture), nor have these institutions and their peers in the league demonstrated the ability to consistently fulfill their educational mission of (re)forming ‘student’ athletes into young men of character.
    The Patriots franchise, which strikes me as a more discriminating outfit than its league peers, in this instance got what they gambled on: a fourth round felon. Erratic and violent behavior including bar fights and repeated domestic abuse? Y’all are looking at the wrong stats, too I’d say.

  10. This article reminds me of the one on ESPN by Ashley Fox–both are garbage. Honestly, I don’t know where to start…Aaron Hernandez is an adult, the Patriots can’t force him into “be nice classes”, can’t and shouldn’t try to hold his hand through life and NFL teams would be accused of paternalism or worse if they tried. No one has a crystal ball and plenty of people who made poor choices in one part of their life grew to make better ones later.

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