An ongoing series from the Boston Globe’s Spotlight team has revealed that quarterbacks Tom Brady and Tim Tebow met after a 2011 game to discuss how to best handle troubled tight end Aaron Hernandez.
Following a Patriots’ win over Denver while Tebow was quarterbacking the Broncos, Brady and the former Heisman winner discussed Hernandez (and former Florida Gator/then-Patriot Brandon Spikes) when they met at midfield and shook hands.
Tebow played with Hernandez in college at Florida and had tried to mentor him at the time. Later, once Hernandez was with the Patriots, he asked Brady for help.
“I’m trying to watch over Aaron and Brandon,’’ Brady told Tebow after the game.
“I appreciate that, man. They’re good guys,’’ Tebow responded.
“Yeah but they’re a lot to handle,” Brady said.
The report from The Globe also reveals that Hernandez once asked Brady, receiver Julian Edelman, and New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels if they would stand by him or forget him if he landed in jail.
As it turned out he did wind up behind bars for murder and gun charges — something that may not have happened had he not wound up playing in New England, very close to where he grew up in Bristol, Connecticut.
As it was, his proximity to Bristol led to Hernandez hiring two hometown buddies with criminal records as assistants.
“I think this story turns out a lot differently if he’s, say, in Seattle or San Francisco or someplace just out of reach of Bristol, Conn.,” said football columnist Greg Bedard, who covered Hernandez for The Globe and Sports Illustrated.
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