Aaron Hernandez’s Tattoos Checked by Jail Officials For Gang Affiliation
By Josh Sanchez
Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is going to be spending in jail and the officials will be checking all of the tattoos on his body to see if there is any direct gang affiliation. During his arraignment, a tattoo that read “blood” in red ink was spotted on Hernandez’s hand, and then an image surfaced of him wearing red and flashing gang signs that are often associated with the Bristol Bloods.
When you add that to the fact that there have been rumblings of Hernandez having gang affiliations in the past, it makes sense for the jail officials to check out Hernandez. Of course, this is something that they do with every inmate, because they want to avoid any tragedy taking place and putting someone directly in harms way with a rival gang member.
Especially when that person is a celebrity, and could be targeted.
“We’ll be looking at his tattoos to see if there are any symbols that affiliate with gangs,” Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson told the Boston Herald. “We have to always be vigilant around security and not place him somewhere where there are rival gang members.”
Officials fear that Hernandez would be in danger if he was in general population with any affiliations.
“Hernandez could be a very appealing target for someone who wants to make a reputation for himself,” UCLA adjunct professor of social welfare Jorja Leap told theHerald. “The sheriff needs to be extra careful with someone like Hernandez.”
Pro Football Talk brought up a good point on the issue when they asked if this is something the league should potentially consider doing themselves in the future.
With the draft process being as intense as it is and the increase in tattoos on players, I am really surprised that it isn’t already something that they do. If players would be checked moving forward, it could prevent a team from sinking a lot of money in to a player that could go down a similar path as Hernandez.
Of course, people can change, but it would raise a red flag that teams could look in to even more.
What do you think, FanSiders? Should the NFL check incoming players tattoos for potential gang affiliation? Sound off in the comments section and share your thoughts.
[H/T: Pro Football Talk]