From the Desk

Rags-to-riches stories seem to draw in readers rather quickly. Everyone loves a feel-good story that tugs at the heartstrings.

But unfortunately, for every one of those stories, there seems to be the fall-from-grace, riches-to-rags story, and this time, former New England Patriots star Aaron Hernandez is the focus.

Following the months-long trial, Aaron Hernandez was found guilty of several felonies, the chief among them being first-degree murder, April 15, 2015. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, and he is still awaiting trial in the shooting deaths of two other people.

Just like that, Aaron Hernandez is no longer a star. The luxuries he enjoyed as one of football’s rising talents? That $40 million he was set to earn as a result of a recent contract extension? Gone.

Now, Aaron Hernandez is simply a 26-year-old man living out the rest of his days in a cell.

But there is more to the story than the fate of a football prodigy.

Aaron Hernandez’s merciless act left someone dead, and I am sure his victim’s family is still reeling. Odin Lloyd is forever gone because of Aaron Hernandez’s decisions.

That damage is only compounded when the hurt Aaron Hernandez caused his mother and his fiancée is realized. And the person everyone seems to forget is Aaron Hernandez’s 2-year-old daughter, Avielle Hernandez.

While Aaron Hernandez pays for his actions and decisions, Avielle Hernandez will continue to grow. She will enter school in a few years, and down the road, she will hopefully walk across the stage to get her high school diploma. Later on, she will likely find the man she is supposed to marry. And her father will miss it all as he sits in his jail cell. Avielle Hernandez will grow up without the man who is supposed to be there for her milestones, the man who is supposed to support her and lead her.

Fame, luxury and riches can all be lost in an instant, and one wrong move can affect all those around you. The general public will likely soon forget about the Patriots star who fell from grace.

I hope Aaron Hernandez realizes, as he serves his sentence, the life-changing implications of his bad decisions — a son forever taken from his family, a fiancée without her partner, a mother devoid of interaction with her son and a daughter who will never fully experience the love of her father.

Brown is the editor-in-chief