Found guilty for the 2013 killing of Odin Lloyd, Aaron Hernandez went from the status of a professional football star with a $40 million contract and a bright future to life behind bars. The Christian Science Monitor asks if his conviction set a new precedent for professional athletes charged with criminal activity. Despite a circumstantial case and a strong defense that got much evidence excluded, a jury convicted Hernandez. “The fact that he was a professional athlete meant nothing in the end,” said Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn.
As the long trial progressed, and the media began to dig more into Hernandez's back story, they found that he was charged in a 2012 double murder, he is a “person of interest” in a 2007 shooting, a friend is suing him for allegedly shooting him in the face. His credibility came into question, overshadowing his star status, the Monitor says.