File this one away in the, “things I researched so that you don’t have to,” category. Truthfully, a good deal of this site might end up in that category, as nobody else seems to really love rolling around in the muck or NFL injuries the way I do. This week, news came out that Aaron Hernandez’s defense team was seeking his full Patriots club records. They wanted everything, and I mean everything, that the Pats had in writing on Hernandez:
“including, but not limited to, psychological testing, medication records, X-rays, MRIs, CT scans, drug or alcohol abuse-related records, other medical records, physical therapy records, scouting reports, and investigative reports.”
I’m just smart enough to understand that if a defense attorney requests information, that information might hold some value in defending the client. Yeah, pretty insightful there, right? Since medical records were one of the things requested, and since I have a database of NFL medical histories, I figured it might be worth taking a closer look to see what could be going on here from a medical perspective.
Turns out, nothing. Bupkis. At least, not that I can see. Here’s the chronological timeline of Hernandez’s injuries and crimes (as a crackpot blogger, I don’t have to say “allegedly” every time I reference his crimes).
2010
- February, doesn’t run combine 40 yard dash due to torn back muscle
- August, misses two preseason games with vague knee injury
- December, shows up on injury report with the flu, but misses zero games
- December, misses two weeks with vague right hip injury
2011
- February, offseason hip surgery
- September, sprains his ACL, misses 2 weeks
2012
- January, possible concussion. Patriots tight-lipped as usual, so unknown if he was ever officially diagnosed as having a concussion
- July, double homicide outside Boston nightclub
- September, right, high ankle sprain, misses 3 games
- October, reagravation of same high ankle sprain, misses 4 weeks
2013
- June, Odin Lloyd homicide
What was the point of all this, you ask? First of all, ask your questions in the comments section not up here in the body of my post. Second, that’s not a bad question. I guess I was hoping that I’d turn up something revealing that might clue us in on the defense’s strategy. The records would be an obvious move if Hernandez had been on pain medication or suffering from concussion symptoms at the same time as either of the shootings, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.
The only connection I can even pretend to make is that the New England Patriot’s practice camp opened on July 25, 2012, only nine days after Hernandez’s possible Boston nightclub shooting. Perhaps the Patriots have some sort of records from that time period that might be useful to Hernandez’s defense team. But probably not. Sounds to me more like his lawyers are looking for psychological or character information. Maybe someone is hosting a blog about that. Or maybe that’s my next spin-off project. It’s either that or get a real job.
