By Miguel Rapetti
06 Aug 2024, 00:58 AM EDT
The life story of former NFL and New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez, who took his own life while serving a life sentence for murder, will be told in a new series premiering September 17 on the FX platform.
Titled “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez,” the production hopes to chronicle the former tight end’s rise and fall, from his early days in American football to his subsequent suicide and the legacy he left behind in American sports, as revealed in the production’s synopsis.
“FX’s first installment of American Sports Story is based on the life of Aaron Hernandez. The 10-episode miniseries chronicles the rise and fall of NFL superstar Aaron Hernandez and explores the many facets of his identity, his family, his career, his suicide and his legacy in sports and American culture,” the network said.
The player born in Bristol, Connecticut, was distinguished by his strength and great athletic ability to receive and run the ball.
In three seasons with the Patriots, led by Tom Brady, he had 175 receptions for 1,956 yards and 18 touchdowns. With a long history of trouble with the law, Hernandez was arrested in 2013 for the alleged murder of Odin Lloyd, his fiancée’s boyfriend, for which he received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
He was also charged with the murder of two men outside a bar in Boston, Massachusetts, charges for which he was found not guilty.
On April 19, 2017, at the age of 27, he was discovered after hanging himself with the sheets he had in his cell.
After his death, Hernandez’s attorney stated that his client suffered from severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a degenerative brain disorder associated with head trauma.
A condition associated with symptoms such as aggression, sadness, decreased impulse control, memory loss, cognitive impairment, and suicidal thoughts.
American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez will star alongside The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes actor Josh Rivera, who will play the former Pats player.
Other cast members include Ross Jirgl as Tom Brady; Laith Wallschleger as Rob Gronkowski; and Jerry Levine as Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
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