We've now listened to the entire series Gladiator, and the podcast brings up many issues about what "went wrong" in Aaron Hernandez's life that led him to commit murder and that also led to his early death in jail.

Now, we are going to read four articles that relate to some of the events in Hernandez's life. Use these articles to help you think about who or what bears most of the responsibility for what went wrong.

Episode 2 of the podcast talks about Hernandez's childhood and some of the trauma that he experienced. Read the article linked above and think about how the information relates to what Hernandez went through.

Article: How severe, ongoing stress can affect a child’s brain by Lindsey Tanner

Article: Persistent Fear and Anxiety Can Affect Young Children’s Learning and Development

father hugging son

In Episode 2, we also hear about Hernandez's experiences growing up and his father's ideas about traditional masculinity and what was "acceptable" behavior for a boy/man. Read the articles below and think about how this may have affected Hernandez.

Article: Traditional Masculinity Can Hurt Boys, Say New A.P.A. Guidelines by Jacey Fortin

Article: What We Mean When We Say, "Toxic Masculinity" by Colleen Clemens

In Episode 3, we hear about Hernandez's experiences leaving high school early to play football at the University of Florida and what his experiences were like while he was a student athlete. Read the articles below and consider how much, if any, responsibility the University of Florida and Coach Urban Meyers should bear in what happened to Hernandez.

Article: Does the NCAA exploit student-athletes? by Nick Romeo

Article: Forget Bribes, the Real NCAA Crime Is Exploiting Athletes by Robert Silverman

In the later episodes of Gladiator, we hear more about the brain injuries Hernandez suffered as a result of his football career as a young man, a college athlete, and an NFL player. Read the articles below and think about how much of an effect his brain trauma may have had on his behavior and how much, if any, responsibility the University of Florida and NFL should bear because of this.

Article: Aaron Hernandez suffered from most severe CTE ever found in a person his age

Article: Endgame by Austin Murphy