It is sad that murder is a topic that has become intertwined with professional football, however it is reality. Both the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys have players who are facing a trial of their life. However, the two teams have handled the situation completely different. The Patriots have chosen to completely distance themselves from Aaron Hernandez, while the Cowboys have still been close to Josh Brent.
Aaron Hernandez is accused of cold blooded murder, of shooting a close friend for allegedly telling people information meant to be private. Within two hours of his arrest, the Patriots announced that Hernandez was no longer a part of the team. They went as far as to allow fans to exchange their Hernandez jerseys for any other players. The Patriots are clearly trying to distance themselves as much as possible from the mess Hernandez created for himself.
Josh Brent is accused of getting behind the wheel intoxicated and getting into a single car accident that resulted in the death of his close friend and teammate Jerry Brown Jr. The Cowboys decided not to cut Brent and even allowed him to be on the sidelines the next day to watch his teammates play. Since his arrest, the defensive tackle has been placed back in jail after failing a second drug test. The first time, his alcohol monitoring device went off and he failed to print out the report which was a stipulation on his release on $100,000 bond. The Cowboys have still supported Brent despite his lack of taking this matter seriously.
The Cowboys are known for drama, just look at their insane stadium! The Patriots, however, like their players to follow a certain etiquette and let their playing speak for itself. The Patriots did the right thing in trying to get away from the distraction that Hernandez would have caused. Hopefully, this will cause less questions from the media about the situation. The Cowboys enjoy getting press no matter what the subject is. Last year it was about Dez Bryant’s curfew and his ban from strip clubs. Now there is a guy taking up a roster spot who is charged with vehicular manslaughter in the death of another teammate. Both of these men were living out every little boys’ dream, but instead made extremely poor decisions in their life that involved a person losing their life, but only one has lost their job. Is that fair?
RIP Jerry Brown Jr. and Odin Lloyd
