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Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick Speaks About Aaron Hernandez For The First Time

“I and other members of the organization were shocked and disappointed,” Patriots head coach Bill Belichick said about the Aaron Hernandez murder charges. “Having someone in your organization that’s involved in a murder investigation is a terrible thing. After consultation with ownership, we acted swiftly and decisively.”

Belichick spoke to the media for the first time since former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd two weeks ago.

“[We've] always emphasized the need for players to represent the community well both on and off the field,” he said. “This case involves an individual who happened to be a New England Patriot. This does not in any way represent the way that the New England Patriots want to do things. I’m personally disappointed and hurt in a situation like this.”

Belichick referred to Hernandez as “the individual” throughout the press conference, never once actually saying his name. He went on to explain that he’s partially responsible for the players that end up on the roster.

He detailed the process that the Patriots go through when analyzing potential draft picks, explaining that they look at family, where the player grew up, his lifestyle, college experiences, high school experiences, intelligence, work ethic, motivation, maturity, and more.

“This process is far from perfect,” Belichick said, “but it’s one that we’ve used from 2000 until today and unfortunately this most recent situation with the charges that are involved is not a good one on that record. We will continue to evaluate the way that we do things. We will learn from this experience and become a better team.”

One reporter asked Belichick how he drafted a player who scored a “one” on the team’s maturity test. He responded that those tests are “far from being one hundred percent” and that different teams use different tests.

Aaron Hernandez is in court today for a probable cause hearing. You can watch that live here.

  • JWitruk

    Actually, he said his name to start of his conference speech…
