WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for American Sports Story episode 7.

Alexander “Sherrod” Bradley is one of the most integral and dangerous figures in FX’s American Sports 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. American Sports Story portrays several NFL players, including Hernandez, Rob Gronkowski, Tom Brady, and Tim Tebow. 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 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. American Sports Story episode 5 looks at Hernandez’s early days as a rookie on the New England Patriots and explores the influences of his new head coach Bill Belichick while American Sports Story episode 6 depicts a violent shooting Hernandez was allegedly involved in with his friend Sherrod, who comes after him for revenge in episode 7.

Alexander Bradley Lost His Right Eye After Being Shot

Bradley claimed Hernandez shot him in Florida

As depicted in American Sports Story episode 7, Alexander “Sherrod” Bradley lost his right eye after being shot in the face with a handgun, allegedly by Hernandez. Bradley miraculously survived the gunshot wound to the face and was quick to call out Hernandez via text message, as portrayed in the very first scene of the FX series. Hernandez never admitted to any wrongdoing regarding Bradley’s near-fatal injury. According to CNN, Bradlye texted Hernandez “I never thought ud be da one to shoot me.” Hernandez responded, “I love u and ur not gonna frame me for some bread.“

Did Aaron Hernandez Really Shoot Alexander Bradley?

It was never proven in a court of law

Bradley claimed that Hernandez shot and tried to kill him. He even testified under oath during Hernandez’s double homicide case accusing Hernandez of doing so. However, there’s a deleted text message from Bradley to his lawyer that says he doesn’t actually remember who shot him. Bradley asked for assurance that he would not be charged with perjury if he came out after the trial had ended that he didn’t remember who shot him. After Hernandez’s celebrity attorney Jose Baez presented the text message in front of a jury, Bradley’s credibility took a massive hit. Aaron never confessed to shooting Sherrod and was acquitted of the double homicide charges.

Producers on American Sports Story defended their reasoning for presenting Hernandez’s alleged double homicide and attempted murder of Sherrod as fact. “He did do those murders,” one said. “What’s interesting to us is the ways that he was found not guilty of those murders. It’s pretty clear that Aaron shot Sherrod in the face. There’s so much witness testimony placing Aaron around the scene of those murders. All of the evidence led to that.” Another said, “We took a hard line, like he is a killer. He did kill people and ended people’s lives. We, as a show, don’t want to forgive him for that. At the same time, he wasn’t born a murderer.”

Alexander Bradley Sued Aaron Hernandez

Bradley asked Hernandez for as much as $5 million

As depicted in American Sports Story episode 7, Alexander “Sherrod” Bradley sued Hernandez after surviving a near-fatal gunshot wound. The series accurately conveys Sherrod’s reluctance to report Hernandez to the police so that he could have the opportunity to enact his revenge on Hernandez. Instead of responding with violence of his own, Sherrod went for Hernandez’s pocketbook, who was fresh off his big $40 million contract extension. The two exchanged hundreds of threatening back-and-forth text messages, some of which were sent by Hernandez, stating that he was in possession of several automatic and other lethal weapons.

While Hernandez never admitted to the crime in real life and was never charged with the attempted murder of Sherrod, he did rely on the assistance of his agent, Brian Murphy, to negotiate a potential payout. Sherrod reportedly asked for $5 million before settling on his second ask of $2.5 million as depicted in the series. Hernandez had countered Sherrod’s price with an offer of $1.5 million which Sherrod interestingly refused, sticking to his $2.5 million figure. Years later, Hernandez reached a settlement with Bradley for a confidential amount while incarcerated in 2016.

Alexander Bradley Testified Against Aaron Hernandez In Court

Alexander S. Bradley became close friends with Aaron around 2010 right as Hernandez was finishing his collegiate career and about to enter the NFL. A native of Connecticut, Bradley used to bring Hernandez weed and the two would heavily smoke together on many occasions. Bradley was a tough individual who had access to guns and had previous run-ins with the law. Not only did he testify that Aaron’s gunshot made him blind in his right eye, but he was also granted immunity in the 2017 double homicide case to become the prosecution’s star witness. Footage of the trial can be seen in Netflix’s Killer Inside docuseries.

Alexander Bradley testified against Hernandez, accusing him of killing Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in a drive-by shooting in Boston’s Theater District. After Hernandez became frustrated at de Abreu for spilling his drink on him in a nightclub, he and Bradley moved to another bar, where de Abreu and Furtado also showed up. Bradley claimed Hernandez was paranoid and believed they were following him. Hernandez went to his car, a Toyota 4Runner, to retrieve his gun. He had Bradley drive around circling the bar until Hernandez spotted the two men and had Bradley drive up to them. According to Bradley, Hernandez fired five shots into the vehicle, hitting one man in the chest and another in the head.

Alexander Bradley Received A Five-Year Prison Sentence In 2017

He unloaded 11 rounds into a bar in Hartford Connecticut

While Hernandez had been incarcerated since his arrest for the murder of Odin Lloyd in June 2013, Bradley, who was an ex-convict when Herandnez initially met him during his college days, was sent back to prison in January 2017. Bradley was sentenced to five years in prison for shooting into a bar in Hartford, Connecticut. However, Bradley had already served three years in prison by the time he received his five-year sentence. He was on parole until 2024. Ultimately, due to Bradley’s own history of criminal activity and shaky testimony in court, it was never confirmed whether Herandnez actually shot him as depicted in American Sports Story.

Sources: CNN, Netflix

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