Late NFL star Aaron Hernandez threatened to “f–k up” a teammate, exposed his genitals to fellow Patriots while he spoke about “gay sex” and displayed erratic behavior on the field during his final season with New England.
The convicted murderer, who committed suicide in prison last year, had a reputation as one of the Patriots’ hardest-working players — but with a turbulent temper, the Boston Globe reported Monday.
“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 Patriots receiver Brandon Lloyd told the newspaper as part of its six-part investigative series into Hernandez’s troubling life. “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?’”
Lloyd recalled being warned by Wes Welker, a six-year veteran of the team, about Hernandez’s off-putting behavior.
“He is looking at me wide-eyed. And he says, ‘I just want to warn you that [Hernandez] is going to talk about being bathed by his mother,’” Lloyd said. “’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 also once threatened to “f–k up” Welker in the early days of training camp after the ex-Dolphin teased him about needing help in the film room, people who were familiar with the incident told the Globe.
The talented tight end suddenly snapped one day when he was horsing around on the sidelines during non-contact practice called a “walkthrough.”
“He was out at the walkthrough in flip-flops trying to run around,’’ Lloyd recalled. “He was laughing. He was loud. And Tom [Brady] keeps it serious in the walkthrough. And Tom says, ‘Shut the f–k up. Get the f–k out of here.’
“It was like he went from this child-like, laughing, disruptive behavior … and he storms off in a fit of rage.’’
Nicknamed “Chico,” Hernandez was usually the first one on the field for practice and the last one to leave, according to the Globe report. One of his few friends on the team was fellow 2010 rookie Dan Fletcher, who became privy to Hernandez’s life outside football and knew of his ex-convict pals from Bristol, Connecticut.
“I knew they were trouble,’’ Fletcher said. “Everybody kind of did.”
Hernandez was drafted from the University of Florida and signed a four-year contract with the Patriots in 2010. He was dropped from the team in 2013 following his arrest for the murder of Odin Lloyd, who was dating Hernandez’s fiancee’s sister.
Hernandez — who reportedly was tormented by his secret homosexuality and had been physically and sexually assaulted as a young boy — was convicted in 2015 and serving a life sentence when he was found hanging in his cell. He was 27.
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