Was Aaron Hernandez Sexually Abused And Beaten As A Child?

It wasn't an easy life for Aaron Hernandez. From severe abuse at the hands of his father to have struggled with his sexuality; the famed footballer dealt with internal trauma.

1) Aaron Hernandez has a dark history: Aaron’s brother Jonathan believes that Aaron has had a rough past. Jonathan revealed that Aaron had once opened up about being sexually abused as a child, without divulging much about it. It is believed that both Jonathan and Aaron decided to not reveal the identity of the perpetrator. A few insiders now speculate that the trauma of abuse could’ve led to him exploring his sexual side during his teen.

2) Dennis was often an abusive father: Aaron and Jonathan were both at the receiving end of Dennis’s impulsive lashings. While it is believed that Dennis wished for his sons to excel in life, the techniques used to obtain were often downright abusive. Once, the beatings got so severe that Jonathan was left with little option but to threaten him about getting the cops involved. Aaron often turned up to school with a black eye and bruises. Everyone in Bristol knew that Dennis went a little too far in terms of disciplining his sons.

3) Aaron endured deep-rooted struggles with sexuality: Despite growing up in an extremely homophobic set-up, it is learned that Aaron turned to homosexuality and indulged in a series of illicit affairs. It is learned that Dennis SanSoucie, his high-school quarterback, revealed that Aaron and he did have a sexual relationship that began in middle school and continued up until high school.

4) Aaron was often silenced by his father: Aside from being abused physically, Aaron was often silenced by his father, who nipped his ambitions to become a cheerleader right in the bud. “I remember (Aaron) wanted to be a cheerleader. My cousins were cheerleaders and amazing,” Jonathan told the Globe in an interview. “And I remember coming home and like my dad put an end to that really quick. And it was not OK. My dad made it clear that ... he had his definition of a man.”

5) Dennis kept his sons anchored through obtuse ways: It is believed that Dennis often set unbelievably high standards for his children— “I mean, he told me his father used to make him -- to shoot 500 shots before he went, sometimes to play with his friends. His dad clearly kept them anchored,” said Sheriff Thomas Hodgson of Bristol County to a media outlet in 2015.