Rolling Stone published an article on Wednesday claiming Aaron Hernandez told New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick he feared for his safety and, on a different occasion, Belichick came close to cutting the tight end. Patriots president Jonathan Kraft denied the report and questioned its veracity.
"It said that Aaron had told Bill that he feared for his life and that his life was in danger and Bill's response was to tell him to get a safe house and lie low," Kraft said on Thursday during an interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub, via ESPN. "I actually saw Bill - I think I would've known if that had ever happened - but I saw Bill today and I said, 'Bill, did Aaron ever tell you his life was in danger?' And he's like, 'Absolutely not.'
"If a player had told Bill his life was in danger, Bill would say we're calling [team director of security] Mark Briggs, we're calling the authorities."
Kraft also dismissed the notion of Belichick threatening to cut Hernandez if the 23-year-old made one more misstep.
"If we had known what people seem to think we know about Aaron Hernandez, we would not have done that deal," Kraft said. "And Bill would never threaten a player with being cut 12 months down the road; it makes no sense, both in terms of how you're interacting with the player and in terms of the cap."
The entire Rolling Stone article raised doubts in Kraft, who questioned its accuracy and sources.
"I read that article, and there's so much in it, and it reads like it's all factual, people were there, yet there are no named [sources]," he said. "It's all unnamed, and yet it appears like people are in some very private moments and got the dialogue just right. Nothing is sources, and reading the article, there were three things or two, three, four things in particular that I saw and I just know are completely factually inaccurate, I mean not close to being factually accurate. Just inaccurate. So I look at it and I read the article, and you wonder how much else in there is."
The article also alleged, according to "long time family friends" of Hernandez, that the ex-NFL player frequently smoked PCP.
Hernandez is currently being held without bail while he awaits trial for the murder of Odin Lloyd. He is due in court on Friday, Sept. 6 for his arraignment in Superior Court.
