"He had to go through a whole lot": Tim Tebow opens up on Aaron Hernandez's overlooked struggles 8 years after ex-Patriots TE's suicide

Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow has pushed back on the narrative around late New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez committed suicide in jail in 2017, after being convicted of the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd.

Tebow appeared on the "Flagrant" podcast on Wednesday and was asked if he could have taken more responsibility for the media image that was portrayed around Hernandez.

“Yeah. But I think that you know when people ask, there's a reason that I don't say anything," Tebow said. "Because why would I talk about it when so much of his family has been hurt and gone through this. It's easy for people to just talk and make shows and highlight, and also not always share all of the sides of it. They don't share the other sides of him (Hernandez). "They don't share how hard certain things were for him. … Just doesn't take a full picture. He had to go through a whole lot, but he was also someone that a lot of times was trying, and he was a young man that did a devotional for six months in a row with me a lot of times and coach (Urban) Meyer a lot of times. You know, just the whole picture should be painted.”

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Hernandez was teammates with Tebow at Florida from 2007 through the 2009 season. They won the BCS national title in 2009.

The media often painted an image of Hernandez. Reports claimed that the late NFL player suffered from CTE, his upbringing, potential childhood abuse, and other mental health issues. However, Tebow has often refrained from speaking negatively about Hernandez.

Tim Tebow recalls frantic moments before committing to Florida

Former Florida Gators QB Tim Tebow - Source: Getty

Last week, Tim Tebow appeared on the "In Depth with Graham Bensinger" show and discussed his frantic moments before committing to Florida.

“Well, I’ve been agonizing about it for several days and trying to figure out how to narrow it down,” Twbow said. “I narrowed it down to Florida and Alabama, and I loved both schools. And it was like it literally came down to the last second. Even when I said University of Florida, there was still a part of me that regretted it. I didn’t know if I made the best decision.”

Tebow won two national championships, 3 SEC East championships, and a Heisman Trophy at Florida. He finished his college career with 9,286 passing yards, 88 touchdowns, 16 interceptions and 57 rushing TDs.

Edited by Arnold