article_snippet.sent: Like it or not, that is who Hernandez is.
article_snippet.sent: Football was the best thing Hernandez ever had, especially after Hernandez father died suddenly after a routine hernia surgery in 2006.
article_snippet.sent: After that Hernandez life got complicated.
article_snippet.sent: At 17, Hernandez went off to the University of Florida and seemed headed for greatness.
article_snippet.sent: There Hernandez won the John Mackey Award as the nation's best tight end and led the team in receiving during the John Mackey Award 2009 Bowl Championship Series win.
article_snippet.sent: By the time Hernandez was drafted in 2010 by the New England Patriots, Hernandez had already been labeled a "troubled player.
article_snippet.sent: The NFL for the most part does a great job vetting The NFL for the most part players, and certainly Hernandez is an anomaly in the league, where despite the ugly headlines, the overwhelming majority of players are upstanding, law-abiding citizens.
article_snippet.sent: And Patriots bashers (me included) would be mistaken to try to find fault with the team for drafting Hernandez despite Hernandez troubled past.
article_snippet.sent: Hernandez was a guy who had all the talent and opportunity in the world, but Hernandez still went wrong.