Jonathan Kraft Admits He Made Call For Patriots To Release Aaron Hernandez
Episode 6 of the Apple TV+ docuseries “The Dynasty,” offered significant insight into Aaron Hernandez and his release from the Patriots following his arrest for the murder of Odin Lloyd.
In the episode Patriots team president Jonathan Kraft said he made the decision to cut Hernadez, admitting Bill Belichick didn’t want to cut the star tight end.
“Whatever warm feelings we have toward Aaron, it looks like he did the ultimate bad thing and he can’t — we can’t have him on our team any longer,” Kraft recalled during the episode. “At that time, my dad and Bill were both out of the country, but I felt strongly we couldn’t wait. I called my dad, and he very much agreed, and we called Bill, and Bill as is his wont, was always more measured.”
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The episode also rehashed previously known information about Hernandez, including his request to be traded to the West Coast to be away from his family and lifestyle in 2013.
Belichick, who declined Hernandez’s request referred to it as an “unfortunate situation” and said he didn’t have “anything to add” to the story.
Kraft seemingly threw Belichick under the bus with his assessment of Hernandez’s arrest.
“In the beginning, (Bill) said ‘he’s not guilty yet,’ and there are competitive issues, too. He didn’t want to lose an amazing football player.,” Kraft said. “Bill’s instinct would be to play this f–ing thing out to the end, and I just knew we couldn’t play it out until the end. Not because of how it looked on us but because we had to set a fu– example. I mean, it’s like, this guy’s a murderer!”
Patriots owner Robert Kraft also offered insight into his relationship with Hernandez in the episode. Several former teammates of Hernandez weighed in on the tragic events leading up to and following his conviction.