WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for American Sports Story episode 5.American Sports Story episode 5 “The Man” changes several key aspects of Aaron Hernandez’s true story. Josh Rivera leads the American Sports Story cast as Aaron Hernandez, the former collegiate and NFL superstar tight end who was convicted of murdering semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd in 2015. The first two episodes of American Sports Story capture a basic understanding of Aaron Hernandez’s complicated upbringing and accelerated path to becoming a Florida Gator before joining the NFL’s New England Patriots in 2010. American Sports Story portrays several NFL players, including Hernandez.

American Sports Story episode 3 chronicles Hernandez’s celebrity status at the University of Florida before he ultimately declared for the 2010 NFL Draft. American Sports Story episode 4 chronicles more of the details of Hernandez’s transition from being the 2010 John Mackey Award winner to having his draft stock plummet ahead of the NFL Draft due to off-the-field concerns. Episode 4 also introduces Hernandez’s longtime agent, Brian Murphy. Episode 5 chronicles Hernandez’s early days as a rookie on the New England Patriots and explores the influences of his new head coach Bill Belichick and his ex-con friend Sherrod.

Aaron Hernandez Never Walked Onto The Patriots’ Practice Field Naked

American Sports Story depicts an unhinged scene in which Hernandez is told while showering that he has to go pick up all the shoulder pads from the practice field. The show explains that it’s a rite of passage that all rookies must obey, which isn’t the unbelievable part. The series depicts Hernandez walking out onto the practice field completely in the nude, smiling and talking to his teammates and even head coach Bill Belichick as if nothing was out of the ordinary. There is no report that Hernandez ever did such a thing, so it’s quite odd that the creators of American Sports Story chose to make up that part of his true story.

Aaron Hernandez’s First NFL Touchdown Was Much More Impressive Than The Series Depicts

While some of the football-specific events in American Sports Story are fairly accurate, the series does football fans a disservice in its reenactment of Aaron Hernandez’s first NFL touchdown. Hernandez did score his first two NFL touchdowns during an away game in Week 8 of the Patriots’ 2010 season, but his first touchdown was scored after he secured an improbable tipped ball by the defense.

Tom Brady targeted Hernandez in the back left side of the endzone, but the ball was deflected mid-air by a Cleveland defender. Hernandez saved the ball from going out the back of the endzone and made an impressive athletic play to catch the tipped pass and land two feet to score his first pro touchdown. Hernandez’s touchdown celebration was also completely reinvented in the series, with Rivera’s character spinning the football in the endzone and digging and imaginary grave. In reality, Hernandez jumped into the air and was pushed around by his teammates.

Aaron Hernandez Had Plenty Of Money During His Rookie NFL Season

During a scene between Hernandez and Sherrod, the dramatized character based on the real-life Avery S. Bradley, Hernandez tells Sherrod he’s tight on money, blaming his NFL rookie deal for not paying him enough. This notion doesn’t make a lot of sense considering the specifics of Aaron Hernandez’s actual rookie deal. His contract was valued at $2.378 million, which would be paid over the first four years of his NFL career.

Hernandez was guaranteed $200,000 as a signing bonus and would receive an average annual salary of $594,500 (via Spotrac). Hernandez was issued $200,000 immediately after signing the rookie contract, indicating that he certainly wasn’t as strapped for cash as his character makes it seem in the series.

Aaron Hernandez Was Not Injured After 43-Yard Run Against The Denver Broncos

American Sports Story strangely makes Aaron Hernandez’s few running plays exaggerated and convoluted, making it seem like he did it all the time. He had zero rushing attempts against the Indianapolis Colts during the 2010 season, meaning American Sports Story created that scene. The series randomly jumps ahead from when Terri Hernandez was stabbed in June 2010 to the Patriots’ divisional round playoff game against the Denver Broncos on January 14, 2012. This explains why he wears the number 81 instead of 85 in that scene, which he wore during his rookie season and reportedly sold to wide receiver Chad “OchoCinco” Johnson to fund a drug deal (via Bleacher Report).

American Sports Story episode 5 depicts Hernandez rushing for a 43-yard gain against the Broncos in a 2012 playoff game, which did happen. However, the head injury that followed did not actually happen, and the game footage of the play shows that Hernandez was hardly tackled when the play was over. The series makes it seem like this was one of the pivotal moments that could have contributed to Hernandez’s advanced CTE diagnosis, but that is not the case. The series as a whole significantly inflates his rushing attempts and confusingly jumps ahead a year and a half without even acknowledging it. It also didn’t point out that Tim Tebow was the quarterback of the Broncos during that game.

Chris Taylor Is A Fictional Love Interest But Was The Name Of A Former Patriot Running Back

Chris Taylor, a fictional trainer and physical therapist working at Brian Murphy’s Athletes First training facility in Laguna Hills, California, returns in American Sports Story episode 5 after being introduced in the previous episode. While Murphy and Athlete’s First are very real, with the renowned firm representing dozens of elite athletes such as Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott, Chris was created entirely for the show to advance the narrative of Aaron’s closeted gayness. Interestingly, there was a Chris Taylor on the Patriots in 2010 who was teammates with Hernandez for a brief time, but the fictional character and the real-life NFL player have no relation.

Aaron Hernandez Never Assaulted Jeff Cummings, Who Was Arrested & Jailed After Stabbing Terri Hernandez

One of the biggest true story inaccuracies in American Sports Story episode 5 was the depiction of Aaron Hernandez beating up Jeff Cummings after he slashed Aaron’s mother, Terri Hernandez, in the face with a knife. Aaron never beat up Jeffrey Cummings and never even had the opportunity to, since Cummings was sentenced to two years in prison following the violent act against Terri. The laceration was also on her right cheek, not the left side of her face as depicted in American Sports Story. Cummings was arrested outside Aaron Hernandez’s childhood home and was released from prison in 2012.

Source: Spotrac, Bleacher Report

American Sports Story is a TV show from Stu Zicherman and executive produced by Ryan Murphy. The series stars Josh Andrés Rivera as Aaron Hernandez and Patrick Schwarzenegger as Tim Tebow. The sports anthology series serves as the fourth installment in Murphy’s “American Story” franchise.

Cast

Josh Andrés Rivera , Patrick Schwarzenegger

Seasons

1

Directors

Paris Barclay , Carl Franklin