The Boston Globe’s Spotlight team investigated the complex history of Aaron Hernandez’s life and took a deep dive into his legacy.
Hernandez, who played with the Patriots from 2010-2012, committed suicide at age 27. The Globe interviewed dozens of people who knew him to determine why that might have happened.
Here’s what we learned from the Gladiator series, reported by Bob Hohler, Beth Healy, Sacha Pfeiffer, Andrew Ryan, and editor Patricia Wen:
He and his brother lived in constant fear of their father’s beatings.
Aaron and Jonathan Hernandez routinely took severe lashings from their father, Dennis.