Florida removes all references to Aaron Hernandez

[Drewy26]

We are at war with Eastasia. We have always been at war with Eastasia.


GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) -- The Florida Gators are no longer celebrating Aaron Hernandez.
The University Athletic Association, which funds the school's athletic programs, has removed all references to Hernandez in and around the football stadium. The latest and most public one came Thursday when construction workers pulled up a granite plaque commemorating Hernandez as a first team All-America selection in 2009. The brick was cemented into the ground outside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

 

[theBIGyowski]

I'm sure no one will miss any of that stuff. Now if they decided to get rid of Tebow for some reason...they'd have some empty holes to fill.

 

[Chukker Veteran]

I haven't followed this very closely, I think he's been charged but not been to trial or confessed. I guess what he accused of is so outrageous that people don't see the need to wait until he's been convicted to start removing photos and memorial bricks.

I'm not trying to defend him, I just don't know the details and it seems things are progressing a little out of the usual order.

 

[CrimsonNagus]

Good for UF, no point in celebrating thugs.

 

[RTR91]

I haven't followed this very closely, I think he's been charged but not been to trial or confessed. I guess what he accused of is so outrageous that people don't see the need to wait until he's been convicted to start removing photos and memorial bricks.

I'm not trying to defend him, I just don't know the details and it seems things are progressing a little out of the usual order.

Well, the stories about his time in Gainesville don't make this look a one time incident. Boston PD looks ready to charge him with the double homicide in 2012, too. That will be three murder charges on his record.

 

[Chukker Veteran]

Well, the stories about his time in Gainesville don't make this look a one time incident. Boston PD looks ready to charge him with the double homicide in 2012, too. That will be three murder charges on his record.

I'm at a disadvantage here because I don't follow the off the field scuttlebutt on rival and former rival players as closely as some...

From the outside looking thru a window...usually charges are filed, guilt is determined, then punishment is handed out. I'm not clear how old "stories" would justify skipping step two and going straight to step three.

All I can figure is that the evidence against him in the charge that has actually been brought against him is so overwhelming, there's no need to wait for a conviction before condemning him.

 

[RTR91]

I'm at a disadvantage here because I don't follow the off the field scuttlebutt on rival and former rival players as closely as some...

From the outside looking thru a window...usually charges are filed, guilt is determined, then punishment is handed out. I'm not clear how old "stories" would justify skipping step two and going straight to step three.

All I can figure is that the evidence against him in the charge that has actually been brought against him is so overwhelming, there's no need to wait for a conviction before condemning him.

I would suggest doing a simple Google search or search on here to find the stories I reference.

 

[cbi1972]

I'm at a disadvantage here because I don't follow the off the field scuttlebutt on rival and former rival players as closely as some...

From the outside looking thru a window...usually charges are filed, guilt is determined, then punishment is handed out. I'm not clear how old "stories" would justify skipping step two and going straight to step three.

All I can figure is that the evidence against him in the charge that has actually been brought against him is so overwhelming, there's no need to wait for a conviction before condemning him.

The court of public opinion doesn't follow due process

 

[selmaborntidefan]

To even compare George Zimmerman with Aaron "Rap Sheet" Hernandez is not apples and oranges, it is apples and baseballs.

 

[theBIGyowski]

I'm sure they saw what the Patriots did and decided to follow suit.

When you have millions of dollars coming in from boosters and alumni...you have to make business decisions.

 

[stew0729]

I actually have a problem with this. Just because you remove all the stones honoring his achievements doesn't mean they didn't happen. Is Florida going to vacate all the games he played in to prove a point. NO they will not. Yes what he has done is horrible, but what are you really accomplishing by removing his achievements.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

This must be a recent thing. OJ Simpson's stuff is still at USC, and he's doing time - and don't even pretend he didn't kill his ex-wife and Ron Goldman.

 

[Chukker Veteran]

I would suggest doing a simple Google search or search on here to find the stories I reference.

To rephrase my question, why didn't Florida wait until Hernandez had been tried and convicted before removing his stuff? On the surface, it seems like an admission that they were at fault for keeping him on their team when he was a Gator, and this is just trying to clean up the mess they made by not kicking him off the team when he was a player.

Another way of saying it...did Florida remove all his stuff before he was convicted to try to deflect from having kept him on the team as a Gator? That seems to me to be like trying to clean up an old mess by making a new mess.

 

[Jon]

All I can figure is that the evidence against him in the charge that has actually been brought against him is so overwhelming, there's no need to wait for a conviction before condemning him.

This is accurate.

One of his buddies rolled on him "Aaron shot him and told me he did, I stayed in the car"

They have video of Hernandez and his buddies, including the victim driving to the murder scene, reports of witnesses hearing gunshots, then the car driving away from the scene without the victim. Minutes later there is video of Hernandez and his buddies arriving at home and exiting the car with guns in their hands.

seriously the only thing missing here is actual video of him pulling the trigger. At the very least he is certainly guilty of being there while the murder happened. It is also clear from his text messages (which he tried to erase by smashing his phone, genius level right there) that he coordinated every step leading to the murder

so yeah, he is guilty, only a massive screw-up by a prosecutor or a serious wizard of a defense attorney will prevent him from serious jail time

 

[Chukker Veteran]

To even compare George Zimmerman with Aaron "Rap Sheet" Hernandez is not apples and oranges, it is apples and baseballs.

More like apples to cantaloupes.

 

[JBama_in_PCOLA]

Saw that coming. I would remove it too. All that Money GONE!!! So are two lives... Sad!

 

[TideEngineer08]

I actually have a problem with this. Just because you remove all the stones honoring his achievements doesn't mean they didn't happen. Is Florida going to vacate all the games he played in to prove a point. NO they will not. Yes what he has done is horrible, but what are you really accomplishing by removing his achievements.

This is not about trying to ignore what happened on the field or acting like it never happened. It's nothing like vacating wins or forfeiting games as I saw some Twitter geniuses say yesterday. It's about not celebrating the accomplishments of a killer.

 

[Drewy26]

I guess I don't see the relation to 1984.

Winston Smith's job in that book was revising old news articles to ensure that they didn't conflict with the current party line. I see this action by Florida as a bit of revisionist history.

Sent from my GT-I9505G using Tapatalk 2

 

[bamagradinATL]

It would be a different story if these acts were committed during his time in Gainesville. IMO, the school would have every right to remove reference to him. However, based on what we know the alleged acts were committed during his NFL tenure. The same goes with OJ. Those acts were committed after he played for U$C.

 

[selmaborntidefan]

Innocent until proven guilty is a legal fiction that only applies in a courtroom. It has no relevance anywhere else. Florida could remove anything about Hernandez for pretty much anything. I'm assuming their logic is to do this now rather than have folks visit later and talk about it.

Also - Hernandez had a rap sheet quite long AT Florida, including shooting someone in the eye.