After finding success through titles like Nip/Tuck, Glee, and American Horror Story, multihyphenate creative Ryan Murphy stepped out with a string of true crime productions starting with 2016’s American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson. Since then, Murphy has continued to expand his hold on the world of dramatized true crime, through three seasons of American Crime Story, The Watcher, and the anthology series, Monster, which is gearing up for its second season later this month. September is going to be a busy one for the producer and director as, along with Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, he’ll also release a brand-new horror series, Grotesquerie, and debut the first season of American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez.

Landing on FX on September 17 with a two-episode premiere, American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez chronicles the titular tight end’s rise from a talented high school football player to a member of the New England Patriots. Of course, if it was as cut and dry as that, there wouldn’t be a true crime series based on his life. Instead, the show primarily focuses on the athlete’s family life, personal struggles, inner demons, murder conviction, and eventual suicide while behind bars. Taking some personal liberties, the FX series doesn’t fully stick to the facts in the case, and largely toes the line between reality and rumor, which — in this particular case — turns the show into the very thing it’s cautioning against. Instead of leaning into the factual pieces of drama and intrigue, of which there are many, creator Stu Zicherman instead puts most of the focus on the disgraced sports star and convicted murderer’s rumored homosexuality. By the end of the series, American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez becomes just another rumor churning through the mill.

‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez’ Would’ve Benefitted from More Background
Image via FX

One of the biggest pieces of the puzzle when uncovering who Hernandez was and why he became the person he would turn into was his family life. The series does a good job of planting the building blocks for the early developmental years of Hernandez’s life but speeds things along in the first episode. We see a young Aaron (played by Josh Rivera) struggle in his family life with his domineering father and mother, who both have criminal pasts, but that storyline ends abruptly when his father passes away during a routine surgery. There’s plenty more family tumult where that came from, but the series really digs into how much Aaron looked up to his dad, a relationship that the audience doesn’t see much of.

Aaron’s family dynamic can be seen having a ripple effect throughout the remainder of his short life, whether it be in the way that he looks for help from the adults at the University of Florida, including his coach there, Urban Meyer (Tony Yazbeck), or from Patriots coach, Bill Belichick (Norbert Leo Butz). While he hears his father’s voice in his head, Aaron can’t seem to stay out of trouble, with his anger issues and emotional problems undoubtedly tied to the topsy-turvy relationship he had with his parents. The series would’ve laid much better groundwork had it spent more time addressing those formative young years of Aaron’s life instead of rushing him off to college like the recruiting team did to the player in reality.

‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez’ Scores a Casting Touchdown With Josh Rivera
Image via FX

While there may be some gripes about how the story played out and what FX did and didn’t add to this telling, there’s no denying that the talent behind the series perfected their parts. West Side Story and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes alum Rivera fully nails his performance as the tight end, encapsulating Hernandez’s facial expressions, mannerisms, and quick-to-lash-out attitude that got him into terrible predicaments.

Golden Globe and Emmy nominee Tammy Blanchard (Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows) also delivers a show-stopping performance as Aaron’s mom, Terri Hernandez. When we first meet Terri, she’s trapped in a loveless and oftentimes hostile relationship with Aaron’s father, which gives us plenty of compassion for her. But, as the series rolls along, Terri is revealed to be a complete narcissist who never has her son’s best interest in mind. Again, this plays into Aaron’s backstory and gives the audience a better idea of his upbringing, which certainly had a hand to play in the crimes that he would commit in the future. Other notable performances can be found in Butz (The Exorcist: Believer), whose portrayal of Belichick is incredibly on point, as well as Patrick Schwarzenegger’s (Gen V) take on Aaron’s Florida Gators teammate and NFL legend, Tim Tebow.

‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez’s Biggest Problem Is the One It Tries To Point Out
Image via FX

If you’ve watched Netflix’s docuseries Killer Inside: The Mind of Aaron Hernandez, or know anything aside from his football career or conviction in one murder case and suspicion in another, it’s likely the rumor that Hernandez was gay. While not something that made headlines until the very end of his life, after his passing, it became widely reported that Hernandez was struggling with his sexuality, which led him down the path of lies and murder. Bringing this topic up in production — whether it be scripted or documentary — is dangerous, as Hernandez himself never admitted to being part of the queer community. All we have to go on is what others have said about him, including his mother and one man who alleges that he and Hernandez had an intimate relationship in high school. Should these rumors be true, then, yes, they likely have played a major factor in who Hernandez became throughout his life. We know that his sexuality wouldn’t have been accepted by his alpha-dog masculine father and, should he have been queer, Hernandez likely would have had a lot of shame tied up in who he was.

Where American Sports Story takes things a step too far with the rumors is through a fabricated affair that Aaron has with a massage therapist named Chris. Played by Jake Cannavale (The Mandalorian), Chris meets Aaron in California when the football player is trying to improve his chances of getting drafted into the NFL. Throughout the series, the pair continues to have an on-again-off-again relationship, even taking a trip out of the country. The problem here is that, without any record of this romance actually happening, American Sports Story is simply adding to the rumor mill that may have played a part in the killer’s suicide.

The series also speculates on Aaron’s relationship with a fellow high schooler and shows him struggling with his sexuality in college — even going as far as to seek spiritual advice from Tim Tebow (Schwarzenegger). While his intentions were probably in the right place, Murphy makes this part of Aaron’s life a giant part of the series. Sure, if he had definitely confirmed to his mother or fiancée that he was gay or bisexual, these relationships could find a more moral place in the story. But, without the confirmation, it seems like the series is just continuing to speculate on something that we really have no idea about. Considering that Hernandez is a complicated person who went to prison for murder and is thought to have suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), there were plenty of other routes to go down instead of playing up a rumor about his sexuality.

‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez’ Takes the Focus Off the Real Victims

In no way are we denying that Hernandez himself was a victim. He grew up in an environment that was abusive on multiple fronts and (like many other players in the NFL) was expected to ignore his physical pain to win as many games as possible. He’s also a victim of the media and its obsession to pick apart every inch of a person’s life until they get their headline-making story. At the same time, there’s simply no getting around the fact that other athletes and celebrities who are also under this same amount of pressure and who come from similar backgrounds don’t turn to killing. While he was only convicted of one murder, Hernandez was the primary suspect in a double homicide and had plenty of other run-ins with the law. By the time the credits roll on the final episode of American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, audiences would be hard-pressed not to feel tremendous amounts of empathy for the late football player. The finale, in particular, seems designed to tug on our heartstrings and give hope that Hernandez finds his peace in the afterlife. This is yet another sticky part of the series, as it seems to draw away from the real victims of Hernandez’s heinous crimes.

For starters, Odin Lloyd (J. Alex Brinson) doesn’t get much screen time, and, being that he’s the one clear case of murder, it’s surprising that the series doesn’t unfurl more of his story. We know that Odin was dating Aaron’s fiancée’s sister, and that the two men formed a friendship, but beyond that, the show doesn’t really dig into their relationship. So, when the events of Odin’s murder transpire, there are a lot of unanswered questions considering the pair (in the series) only hung out a handful of times. The other major victim in this case is Aaron’s fiancée, Shayanna “Shay” Jenkins (Jaylen Barron). Shay has a real “stand by your man” attitude throughout the series, even when her life is being torn apart by Aaron’s temper and actions. The audience will undoubtedly feel for her as the episodes march on, particularly when she is forced to do the unthinkable during her fiancée’s murder trial. Still, the writing’s overall vibe seems to give its lead much more of a sympathetic edge than Shay or any of the people he harmed throughout his life.

American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez premieres September 17 on FX and is available to stream next-day on Hulu.

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