WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for American Sports Story episode 6.

FX’s American Sports Story episode 6 “Herald Street” depicts Aaron Hernandez using painkillers and cannabis to deal with a sidelining ankle injury. Throughout the first six episodes of American Sports Story, a dramatized version of Aaron Hernandez’s true story has been loosely chronicled from his adolescence to his rapid rise as one of the NFL’s top tight ends. The first two episodes of American Sports Story capture a basic understanding of Aaron Hernandez’s complicated upbringing in Bristol, Connecticut. American Sports Story portrays several NFL players as well as Hernandez’s close friends and family members.

Josh Rivera leads the cast of American Sports Story as Aaron Hernandez. The series also features performances by Norbert Leo Butz (Bloodline) as Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Patrick Schwarzenegger (Gen V) as quarterback Tim Tebow. The series portrays some of the major highs, such as winning the prestigious John Mackey Award, and the lows, such as the murder trial of Odin Lloyd, in Hernandez’s tragic true story. American Sports Story episode 5showcases Hernandez’s impact as a rookie on the New England Patriots while American Sports Story episode 6 depicts his alleged double homicide of two men in Boston.

Aaron Hernandez Was Prescribed Vicodin After His High Ankle Sprain Injury

Hernandez missed six regular season games in 2012

American Sports Story episode 6 depicts Aaron Herndnez suffering from a high ankle sprain in his right foot. Hernandez sustained the injury during Week 2 of the 2012 NFL season after another player fell on top of his ankle while he was blocking an opponent, which is accurately portrayed in the ASS episode. Hernandez was forced to miss several early games that year against the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, and the Denver Broncos, which is also consistent with the series. Hernandez returned in the Patriots Week 6 away game against the Seattle Seahawks on October 14, 2012 but also had to miss Weeks 8-11.

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The series depicts Hernandez self-medicating with cannabis while also consistently taking prescription painkillers to manage the pain of his high ankle sprain. Hernandez was reportedly administered a standard dosage of Vicodin by the New England Patriots’ medical staff which he is depicted taking throughout the weeks he is recovering from his injury. According to The Boston Globe, Hernandez discussed the NFL’s reliance on painkillers for players to use throughout the season while he was incarcerated. It’s no surprise that prescription painkillers are commonly used in the NFL, which can cause instances of abuse after players retire.

Aaron Hernandez Took Toradol Injections To Play Through The Pain

Hernandez developed a dangerous addiction to Toradol

Like hundreds if not thousands of other NFL players, Hernandez used the fast-acting pain-relieving drug Toradol to expedite his recovery process for his high ankle sprain. This answers the question of what he’s injected with in the show as he tells a Patriots trainer that he can’t just sit around waiting on the sidelines anymore. According to Bleacher Report, “Toradol first surfaced in the NFL in the mid-to-late 1990s and is approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Still, some players remain concerned about the long-term effect it will have on their health.” Toradol should only be used as a short-term treatment for pain relief and should not exceed five days.

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The real-life Hernandez was not only addicted to cannabis, which greatly contributed to his increasingly paranoid mindset, but also to Toradol. Following his death, addiction and substance abuse are widely considered to be one of the several contributing factors to Hernandez’s unstable thought process and volatile behaviors. According to Design for Recovery, “Toradol, while not an opioid, is extremely dangerous when not used as directed. Toradol is infamously overprescribed to football players.​​​​​​​ In 2011, the NFL faced a lawsuit from NFL players, who argued that they were overprescribed to the drug and were suffering from several health problems as a result.” Since Hernandez played until 2013, the lawsuit clearly did not solve the problem.

What Aaron Hernandez Said About His Drug & Painkiller Use

Hernandez found the NFL’s policies on weed and painkillers odd

Hernandez was well aware of the NFL’s contradictory policies toward cannabis and prescription painkillers. According to Rolling Stone, Hernandez said of the NFL, “They wouldn’t let you smoke marijuana but they’d let you take all the painkillers you wanted.” Regardless of the NFL’s policies against cannabis, and his pre-draft letter to the New England Patriots promising that he would submit to multiple drug tests per week, Hernandez’s weed addiction was pervasive throughout his life, even while incarcerated. Before his death, he was reportedly high on a synthetic marijuana known as K2, a scene that will likely be chronicled in the finale of American Sports Story.

Sources: The Boston Globe, Bleacher Report, Design for Recovery, Rolling Stone

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