Boston paper goes on offensive after Hernandez

The Boston Globe’s Monday report that former Florida Gators tight end Aaron Hernandez’s “character concerns” were the result of “multiple failed drug tests for marijuana” during his time at Florida led the New England Patriots’ fourth-round pick in the 2010 NFL Draft to release a statement through the team Tuesday proclaiming that he only had “one single violation of the team’s substance testing policy over the course of three years.” Hernandez called the initial report “inaccurate,” while promising to “make better decisions going forward” in his professional career.

Wednesday, Globe writer Albert Breer (who sourced three NFL teams in his original article), now claims that he has five different teams substantiating the story that Hernandez failed “absolutely, positively more than two” tests while with the Gators.

Because the University of Florida has a policy not to discuss student-athletes’ drug test results, the truth my never be known. However, Hernandez’s fall in the draft makes it is obvious that (at least) the vast majority of NFL teams believe the story as the Globe is reporting it rather than how the player is explaining it.

Following up on the smoking marijuana portion of the story, the Orlando Sentinel‘s Jeremy Fowler spoke with former Florida cornerback Wondy Pierre-Louis, who estimated that about 75 percent of the 2006 team engaged in the activity. However, Pierre-Louis also defended head coach Urban Meyer‘s efforts to rid the program of this problem and discipline players who tested positive.

“I know a lot of players who didn’t smoke because they wanted to stay on the team,” Pierre-Louis said. “I think every year the percentage is going down. Coach Meyer knows what he’s doing. People still do it anyway, but maybe more people are doing it undercover.”

Photo Credit: John Biever/Sports Illustrated