Aaron Hernandez’s Murder Conviction Ignites Twitter
Social media exploded today with news that Aaron Hernandez has been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. The former Patriots tight end also faces two additional counts of first-degree murder, which will likely go to trial later this summer.
As tragic as the entire situation is, Twitter, as always, proved to be a melting pot of mostly garbage and regrettable bursts of 140 characters. From cheap shots aimed at the Patriots, to half-funny Longest Yard jokes, to crass commentary from an Eagles’ fan, here’s a runthrough of the best and worst responses to the news.
Let’s start with some good old-fashioned Patriots trolling.
Liars, cheaters, and murderer's you may know them better as the New England Patriots! #awfulrolemodels #HernandezTrial #nflnews
— Chris Monty (Montrone) (@comicchrismonty) April 15, 2015
Aaron Hernandez gotta be the first Patriot ever fully punished for breaking the rules…
— Faux Andrew Luck (@FauxAndyLuck) April 15, 2015
It’s hard to tell if the following is a huge Hernandez fan or a grade-A Chiefs hater.
http://twitter.com/BrunchFalcon023/status/588372627397414912
Then there’s a whole host of predictable references to The Longest Yard, the Burt Reynolds classic remade by Adam Sandler in which a pro football player ends up in jail and pulls together a rag-tag team of misfits to take on the guards.
The Longest Yard Mean Machine Prison Team Just signed TE Aaron Hernandez to a long term deal w/ Coach OJ Simpson RB L Phillips WR R Carruth
— Tommy Dreamer (@THETOMMYDREAMER) April 15, 2015
#AaronHernandez new team! 25 to life! When keeping to real goes wrong #ThugLife #f4f #BreakingNews pic.twitter.com/JWNWWfJI9E
— World Wide Broadcast (@wwbcmedia) April 15, 2015
Many responses were truly tasteless and too awful to display here. But it’s worth noting this Eagles’ fan, who is doing wonders to improve Philadelphia’s reputation as a city of classy sports fans.
https://twitter.com/One_Liner_Tyler/status/588373479793242112
But it wasn’t all terrible, though. Some of the most thoughtful commentary came from Hernandez’s former colleagues in the NFL.
Sad to see some one like Hernandez throw his talent away like this but the sad truth is there are a lot of talented people who get caught up
— Chris Baker (@cbakerswaggy) April 15, 2015
I've so many Aaron Hernandez is my own community leave that street life alone seek God and watch your life prosper
— Chris Baker (@cbakerswaggy) April 15, 2015
