ESPN Says Patriots Are Permanently Tainted by Hernandez No Matter What

ESPN.com – The New England Patriots seem to be trying to do the right thing. Now… Hernandez is worthless to the Patriots now, and the organization is going to great lengths to disassociate itself from him. Less than two hours after his arrest last week, New England cut Hernandez and removed his jersey from their pro shop at Gillette Stadium. This weekend, they will allow fans to exchange any Hernandez jersey that was bought at the stadium for another of equal value at no charge. Out with Hernandez, and in with Tim Tebow. But it isn’t that simple and can’t be that neat… New England tarnished its brand by choosing Hernandez twice, and it will take more than a jersey exchange to wipe that tarnish away. It will take time. And better choices. And fewer risks. The team can try to collect and burn every No. 81 jersey it has sold, but it can’t erase the fact that Hernandez wore a Patriots jersey for three seasons. Hernandez was part of the Patriot Way that seems to have gone awry. Team owner Robert Kraft is to blame. So is coach Bill Belichick. They made the choice to gamble on Hernandez… Kraft is one of the most respected owners in the NFL, yet his organization — his brand — is now indelibly tarnished.

Let’s review.  So the Patriots chased Aaron Hernandez off their property like he was coming to steal their chickens.  Before he was even charged in court, they cut his ass.  They set up a Jersey Buy Back program (a 5-day waiting period and background checks on all future purchases might be in play as well), which is unprecedented in the history of sports scandals.  And they are eating $12.592 million of cap space in 2013-14 as the sunk cost of standing by their principles.  But to ESPN, this isn’t enough.  It never can be enough.  Regardless of what they do, they will always be at fault for drafting Hernandez and extending his rookie deal.  Unless Belichick figures out how to generate the 1.21 jigowatts of power necessary to go back to 2010 and not take him, the Patriots brand is not just tarnished, it’s indelibly tarnished.

I suppose a lot of people could make this leap in logic.  I mean, they’d have to have their heads shoved up their asses, but they could make the argument.  Anyone, that is, except ESPN.  They lost the moral authority to say you can’t just wash your hands of a scandal by firing someone about 1,963 scandals ago.  They’re the ones who hired Steve Phillips, knowing full well he liked to bang his assistants, then fed him young assistants.    They hired an executive who rubbed one out next to Erin Andrews on a plane.  They put Eric Kuselias on the payroll knowing he was basically a serial work rapist.  Or for that matter let Jemele Hill compare rooting for the Celtics to being a Hitler sympathizer and let Rob Parker question RGIII’s legitimacy as a black guy.  Just because they disciplined/ fired all of the above, by their own logic the ESPN brand is tainted forever for hiring them in the first place.

I could go on, but I’ll just point out that this is the network that not only gave a job to Ray fucking Lewis, they couldn’t wait to do it.  They hired him after 13 years of cupping his nuts knowing damn well he destroyed evidence in a double homicide.  And in doing so, he probably got the murderers off scot-free.  So no dice, Worldwide Leader.  Someone else can afford to be sanctimonious about this, but not you.  @JerryThornton1

PS.  If this The-Patriots-are-forever-tainted argument keeps coming up, I say fuck it.  Just get AHern the best lawyer money can buy and get him back on the field.  Might as well.