American Sports Story, a FX series that debuted in September 2024, aimed to portray the tumultuous life of Aaron Hernandez accurately, but there have been some inaccuracies about both his personal and professional life. The show chronicled Hernandez’s time with the University of Florida Gators and New England Patriots before legal issues off the football field caught up with him. Hernandez was arrested in 2013 for the murder of Odin Lloyd and was convicted two years later. He was also charged for the double homicide of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. Hernandez’s NFL career came to an end before his acquittal in 2017, and he was found dead at age 27 in his prison cell, ruled as a suicide.
Several inaccuracies in American Sports Story were noticed, including a depiction of Cam Newton’s departure from the Florida Gators. In the show, Newton was dismissed from the team along with Hernandez due to legal issues, but in reality, Newton transferred on his own accord before the Gators won the National Championship. Another inaccuracy was the portrayal of Aaron’s brother D.J. Hernandez being demoted from the University of Connecticut, which was contradicted by statements from the university. American Sports Story also inaccurately depicted the circumstances of a shooting in Boston involving Aaron being charged with murder.
The show also portrayed false information regarding Aaron’s uncle’s involvement in sexual abuse, claiming that Aaron and D.J.’s uncle was accused of abuse despite no evidence supporting such allegations in their public statements. Additionally, American Sports Story showed Aaron’s financial instability during his time as a rookie in the NFL, with the fictional Aaron complaining about lack of funds, which was not consistent with the actual contract he signed with the New England Patriots. The existence of a character named Chris Taylor, who was depicted as having a relationship with Aaron, was also incorrect, as there was no connection between the real-life Chris Taylor and the character in the show.
An inaccurate depiction of Aaron attacking his mother’s boyfriend was highlighted in American Sports Story, as there was no public record of such an incident occurring. The portrayal of a back-and-forth between Aaron and Alexander ‘Sherrod’ Bradley regarding a shooting was also embellished, as text messages obtained by authorities showed threats exchanged between the two but did not involve a monetary settlement as depicted in the show. Lastly, the show exaggerated Aaron’s gun collection, falsely claiming he had an excessive amount of weapons stashed away, when in reality, only two guns were found by his employees and seized by the police.
Overall, American Sports Story got most of the details right about Aaron Hernandez’s life, but there were several inaccuracies and fictionalized elements included in the series. While the show aimed to depict the complexities of Hernandez’s life and legal issues, there were discrepancies in how certain events were presented. From inaccuracies about his college career to false information about his relationships and legal settlements, the FX series took creative liberties that did not align with the real-life facts of Hernandez’s life. Despite attempts to capture the essence of Hernandez’s story, American Sports Story fell short in accurately portraying the details of his tumultuous life.
