Portrayals of former WEEI sports radio hosts Kirk Minihane and Gerry Callahan were prominently featured in the series finale of American Sports Story titled “Who Killed Aaron Hernandez?”

The Ryan Murphy-led American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez concluded Wednesday night on FX, bringing an end to the 10-episode series that was often mocked on social media for its over-the-top portrayals of New England Patriots players and coaches. And the finale similarly featured a strange portrayal of Minihane and Callahan.

Who killed Aaron Hernandez? Hernandez committed suicide in prison on April 19, 2017. This after the former NFL star was charged with first-degree murder in 2013 and found guilty of murdering Odin Lloyd in 2015.

While American Sports Story did highlight CTE’s role in “Who Killed Aaron Hernandez,” the series finale also implied that a discussion about the former NFL tight end’s sexuality on Kirk & Callahan may have led to his suicide. Boston-based reporter Michele McPhee joined Kirk & Callahan on April 17, 2017, and claimed to know Hernandez’s motive for murdering Lloyd. Despite McPhee’s reporting, a specific motive for the killing of Lloyd was never established.

We finally got to see @kirkmin portrayed in American Sports Story pic.twitter.com/V86UMdibvP

— The Unnamed Show (@barstoolunnamed) November 14, 2024

“Michele knows the real motive for the murder of Odin Lloyd,” Callahan said as they welcomed McPhee to the show. “And let’s just say that Odin Lloyd caught Aaron Hernandez in a compromising position.”

“You could say that Aaron Hernandez was a former tight end before he was kicked off the Patriots,” McPhee added.

Minihane discussed his portrayal in the series on the latest episode of Barstool Sports’ The Unnamed Show with co-hosts Dave Portnoy and Ryan Whitney. According to Minihane, the transcript was fairly accurate, but added, “they exaggerated the level of excitement.”

“But I did predict when the series started, they were gonna blame me,” Minihane said. “No question. The Boston Globe produced it; they were definitely gonna blame me for that.”

Minihane has long had a tumultuous relationship with The Globe.

The FX series was based on The Globe’s podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez & Football Inc. Linda Pizzuti Henry, who serves as CEO and co-owner of The Boston Globe, is listed as an executive producer of American Sports Story. Minihane attempted to call Pizzuti on his podcast to discuss the portrayal of Kirk and Callahan, but she did not seem interested in having the conversation.

The timeline portrayed in the series is accurate. McPhee joined Minihane and Callahan on WEEI on April 17, 2017, and speculated about Hernandez’s sexuality. Hernandez committed suicide two days later while serving his life sentence for murdering Lloyd.

American Sports Story seemingly attempted to connect those dots.

So @kirkmin‘s Radio show lead to Hernandez getting so upset he tried Synthetic weed… had hallucinations where he saw his dad which set him free and then had a Code Red.💀
What a wild ending to this series. pic.twitter.com/LRID1AEoqU

— This Day In Barstool Sports/Mario (@ThisDayInBSS) November 13, 2024

Minihane, Callahan and McPhee joking about the possibility of Hernandez being gay in 2017 was cringey.

McPhee even later called the interview “inelegant” and said the story was “not a laughing matter.” But Hernandez was suffering from what was later described as “the worst case of CTE” seen in a person who died at the age of 27; he was also convicted of first-degree murder and serving life in prison not long after experiencing a life of fame and wealth.

A Kirk & Callahan interview with McPhee would seem to be lower on the list of things that were troubling the former NFL star.

[Barstool Sports]