(Joe Nicholson/USA Today Sports)
The biggest news of Wednesday involved former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez being arrested and charged with first-degree murder along with five counts of gun-charges as police continue the investigation of the death surrounding Odin Lloyd. Less than two hours after his arrest, the Patriots released Hernandez to avoid any distractions heading into training camp–so it’s no surprise to see this story taking over every media outlet on Wednesday.
Of course, the last thing you want to do when reporting on a story like this is slipping up the name being charged for murder–which is exactly what ESPN’s Jeremy Schaap did during a segment in which he accidentally said there was evidence implicating Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers in the death of Lloyd.
Luckily, Schaap quickly caught his mistake and corrected himself by saying Hernandez, but these are the types of mistakes any reporter has to be extra cautious with when covering a story this big. Schaap has always been one of the top reporters in the industry, but one can only imagine how a player like Rodgers would feel watching this segment and hearing his name on accident instead of Hernandez.
As for Hernandez, it’s crazy to think how much his life has changed within a week as he’s currently on his way to prison after listening to his fate during his arraignment that took place Wednesday afternoon. For a player with as much potential as Hernandez, this is just another case of a professional athlete putting his gifted talent to waste by performing an idiotic act like this that will have an impact on the rest of his life.
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