Patriots Teammates Open Up About Aaron Hernandez's Unusual Behavior

'The Boston Globe''s Spotlight team is reporting on former Pats TE Aaron Hernandez. In part 3, his former teammates detail his chaotic conduct with the team.

October 16, 2018

Tom Brady, Aaron Hernandez — Image via Getty/John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe
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Former Patriots TE Aaron Hernandez is the subject of a six-part Boston Globe Spotlight team investigation. In part three, former teammates speak about his time in New England before he was convicted in the death of Odin Lloyd. The accounts are the first from his former teammates, who recount erratic behavior that vacillates between "fits of rage" and sensitive introspection, including discussions of cuddling with this mother.

"There would be swings where he’d be the most hyper-masculine, aggressive individual in the room, where he’d be ready to fight somebody in fits of rage," former Pats wide receiver Brandon Lloyd says. "Or he’d be the most sensitive person in the room, talking about cuddling with his mother. Or he’d ask me, ‘Do you think I’m good enough to play?'"

His abrupt shifts in temperament were on display when he pissed off Tom Brady during a walkthrough, which Hernandez was sitting out due to an injury.

Lloyd also mentions an aside from teammate Wes Welker, a six-year veteran who Hernandez threatened to "fuck up" after he made fun of him in the film room. "He is looking at me wide-eyed," Lloyd says of Welker. "And he says, 'I just want to warn you that [Hernandez] is going to talk about being bathed by his mother. He’s going to have his genitalia out in front of you while you’re sitting on your stool. He’s going to talk about gay sex. Just do your best to ignore it. Even walk away.'"

Hernandez's demons, that eventually undid him, span his entire life. In the first part of the Globe's reporting, Hernandez's brother and agent say he was sexually abused as a child. And Boston University conducted a study after his suicide that found he had "the most severe case" of CTE they'd ever found in someone his age.

Part 4 of the Globe's series: "A Killer in the Huddle" drops Tuesday night.