WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for episode 9 of American Sports Story.
The penultimate episode of FX’s American Sports History: Aaron Hernandez changes several important details of the true story. Since the first two episodes of American sports historyAaron Hernandez’s life and NFL career were heading toward a tragic and frightening endpoint that resulted in the former New England Patriot and star tight end receiving a life sentence for the murder of Odin Lloyd. Since emerging as an offensive weapon on Urban Meyer’s legendary but controversial Florida Gators team and receiving the coveted John Mackey Award, BUTT episode 9 shows Hernandez behind bars in a federal prison.
American sports history Episode 9 “What’s Left Behind” puts Hernandez’s ex-fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins, in the spotlight as she chooses to defend Hernandez through his arrest and murder conviction. The contents of the box that Hernandez asked Shayanna to discard remain a mystery both on the show and in reality. The series also portrays Hernandez’s agent, Brian Murphy, and his reaction to the news that Hernandez was implicated in a separate 2012 double homicide in Boston. At the end of BUTT episode 9, Hernandez began his life sentence on April 15, 2015just months after the Patriots won their franchise’s fourth Super Bowl.
Bill Belichick answered questions for 15 minutes during Patriots’ Hernandez press conference
Belichick’s character refuses to answer questions on ASS
American sports history Episode 9 briefly depicts the press conference Bill Belichick held addressing the arrest and release of the Patriots’ Aaron Hernandez in April 2013. After weeks of silence, Belichick participated in a 22-minute press conference, in which he began with a six-minute statement about how shocked and hurt he was by the news. While the series captures most of the takeaways from his statement, it blatantly ignores the fact that Belichick answered questions from the press for at least 15 minutes after his official statement. Belichick maintained his typically reserved and scripted demeanor and acknowledged it would be the last time he would speak on the matter. Even so, he did not deny members of the press the opportunity to ask him questions as portrayed in the series.
Aaron Hernandez’s nanny didn’t speak to the press until after his 2015 conviction
ASS leaves out an important detail about Hernandez’s real-life nanny
The series depicts Jenkins accusing her nanny Brittany of providing photos of her daughter Avielle’s nursery inside the Hernandez home to the tabloids. Real-life nanny Jennifer Fortier didn’t reveal any photos of Hernandez’s home to the press, but she did reveal that Hernandez made a sexual advance on her the night before Odin Lloyd’s death. The series also makes it seem like the nanny went straight to the press after Hernandez’s arrest. It was only after her conviction and life sentence that she spoke to reporters about her experiences with Hernandez. Fortier also testified in 2015 at Hernandez’s murder trial, where she initially revealed that she was with Hernandez the night he murdered Lloyd in his secret second apartment (via Fall River Herald).
NFL’s $765 settlement for players with head injuries wasn’t approved until 2015
A Judge Was Concerned About Veterans Hitting the $675 Million Cap
The NFL’s massive $765 million settlement for former players who suffered head trauma was introduced in 2013 but wasn’t approved until 2015 with different stipulations. The NFL has been sued multiple times representing more than 5,000 former NFL players who have alleged that the NFL actively minimized the impact of head injuries suffered by its veterans. According to CNN“IThere was initially a value of US$765 million in the deal, with US$675 million capped.”A judge”refused in January 2014 to approve the deal, saying she was concerned about the amount of money.” Despite the delays, the agreement was finally reached in April 2015, with no limit on the amount of funds for eligible NFL veterans, although maximum payments for specific health conditions ranged from $1.5 million to $5 million.
Carlos Ortiz did not testify at Hernandez’s murder trial
Prosecutors believed he was an unreliable witness
American sports history depicts Carlos Ortiz testifying on the stand against Hernandez during Odin Lloyd’s murder trial. This never happened, as prosecutors believed Ortiz could not be trusted to testify after initially pleading innocent. Ortiz eventually changed his plea to guilty and took a plea deal in 2016 after Hernandez had already been convicted. Ortiz testified twice before a judge before and after Hernandez’s murder trial, but never when Hernandez was present in court, as portrayed in the series. He did, however, testify before Odin Lloyd’s mother, Ursula Ward, who attended the later trial (via CBS News).
A judge told Odin Lloyd’s mother not to cry during testimony
Ward’s dramatized portrayal in ASS was more emotional than in reality
Odin Lloyd’s mother, Ursula Ward, is briefly pictured on the stand offering her testimony at her son’s murder trial. Although the actress who plays Ward doesn’t cry in American sports history scene, the series is missing an important detail that explains why Ward didn’t cry in front of the courtroom. The real-life Ward was notably emotionless on the stand because a judge reminded her before giving her statement that it was crucial that she remain as emotionless as possible, which was obviously a difficult task. Ward appears to get emotional at the end of the BUTT scene, but be careful not to go any further. At the actual trial, Ward was forced to endure looking at a photo of Lloyd’s corpse. while maintaining your composure (via CNN).
American Sports Story omits Robert Kraft’s testimony at Hernandez trial
Kraft and Belichick are one-dimensional and ineffective in ASS
American sports history episode 9 depicts a brief scene between Bill Belichick and Patriots owner Robert Kraft after learning the news about Hernandez’s arrest. Despite the documented good relationship between Kraft and Hernandez, which would have made a reenactment of Kraft’s testimony at Hernandez’s murder trial naturally compelling, the series chooses to focus more closely on Shayanna’s actions and decisions following Hernandez’s arrest. Kraft was on the stand for nearly 15 minutes and discussed several areas of their relationship and knowledge of Hernandez’s character and social life, which partially involved Hernandez mentioning Lloyd to Kraft on one occasion. As portrayed in the Netflix docu-series Killer inside, It was a crushing moment for Hernandez when his criminal and celebrity lives collided.
Hernandez had to sit down after receiving the jury’s guilty verdict
He also didn’t turn around and look disdainfully at Shayanna.
The series depicts Aaron Hernandez being immediately handcuffed and appearing frighteningly angry with Shayanna after he received the jury’s guilty verdict for killing Lloyd. American sports history leaned towards a fabricated narrative angle that Hernandez was upset with Shayanna for choosing to testify against him in exchange for immunity, despite his statements having little bearing on the trial compared to the overwhelming amount of evidence. In reality, Hernandez stood up upon receiving the verdict, which meant life in prison without parole, but sat down immediately after the verdict was handed down. He also didn’t turn around and look disdainfully at his ex-fiancée, as if he wanted to blame her for the outcome portrayed in the penultimate episode of American sports history.
Sources: Fall River Herald, CNN