Understanding the Collectability of Aaron Hernandez
Aaron Hernandez is collectible.
Yes, I said it.
Aaron Hernandez, who was serving a life sentence for murder before taking his own life by hanging himself in his jail cell in the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Massachusetts in April of 2017, is still being collected by a certain pocket of fans and hobbyists.
Aaron Hernandez death: How the football star lost it all - Sports Illustrated
American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez | FX
I wasn't exactly on the ball, but my wife and I recently finished the FX American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, featuring Hernandez's life story in a piece that attempted humanize him and tell a different side of his unbelievable story as opposed to the monster he is known as around the sports world and the country in general.
Aaron Hernandez: Timeline of NFL career, arrest, death - Sports Illustrated
I was lounging in our living room, doing everything I could to keep my eyes open late at night for a few weeks until we finished the series. After the final episode, I couldn't help but think how Hernandez is seen within the hobby today.
There are a number of collectors who proudly display his cards. In a somewhat morbid way, some collectors take it a step further and piece together collections of not only Hernandez, but various athletes and non-sports figures who committed heinous crimes, were charged or convicted of unspeakable acts and even cultural figures within our society who were only known for their grotesque behavior. I often see players like Rae Carruth in these collections. In 2001, Carruth was found guilty of conspiring the murder of his then-girlfriend Cherica Adams, who was pregnant with his child. I struggle to see why you would proudly showcase a card of this dude.
Hell, there have even been serial killer card sets produced and sold. I'm not sure what that says about the card company that produced those cards or the people who purchased them, but that might be a story for another article.
OJ Simpson, a Heisman Trophy winning Hall of Fame running back and celebrity became more well-known in popular culture for his involvement in the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. I must admit, as a rookie card collector, I have an O.J. Simpson rookie card in my very own collection.
I don't have any cards of Aaron Hernandez or anyone else that we know has committed murder or such acts. My question is this... where do we, as collectors, draw the line on who or what is acceptable to spend our time and our money collecting? Am I a hypocrite for cringing at folks that have these killers in their collection while I sit with an O.J. RC in my stash?
At what point do we feel a little bit dirty about the people and items that get a large chunk of our time and attention? How do we feel about housing cards, memorabilia and artifacts of people who have committed awful acts or ones who have just been awful human beings in general? Any motivational speaker worth their weight will tell you that you become who and what you surround yourself with. In this case, that's a pretty terrifying thought.
Maybe we chalk it up to human nature or a morbid fascination similar to how you can't look away from a car accident on the highway when you're driving by. Our interest is piqued by the best of people and, conversely, by the worst of humanity. To see this phenomenon in full force look no further than the recent discovery of the Menendez brothers being on a second trading card. Recently it was uncovered that the brothers are found on a 1994-95 Upper Deck Rare Air card featuring Michael Jordan. A few years back, the 1990-91 Hoops Mark Jackson card was found to picture the Menendez brothers seated in the front row of a game in the background, while on a spending spree shortly after murdering their parents. The card was first discovered by Stephen Zerance back in 2018. That card literally took the hobby by storm for a short period of time. A card that wouldn't sell for more than a nickel was going for $10, $20, $30 or more raw, commanding hundreds of dollars in high grade copies. The card has again gained notoriety after the Netflix documentary about the brothers this year.
The list of incredible athletes who have had some pretty serious indiscretions, to put it mildly, is a rather long one with some of the biggest names in sports history right at the top of it. Kobe Bryant, Tiger Woods, Pete Rose, Ty Cobb and other icons have all had different but notable missteps.
Is murder where you would draw the line? Is it harming innocent women, children, or animals the line? Or do you not have a line at all? I could be overthinking this, as we are just talking about little pieces of cardboard with pictures of athletes after all.
I feel like I am a king of compartmentalization out of necessity with the number of jobs and responsibilities in my life, but I might even struggle to separate my collection and the hobby with the reality of the players I'm collecting.
As I state often, our collections are ours and ours alone. They are reflection of who we are, what we're drawn to and even to some degree, our belief system.
Another piece of this delicate puzzle that we don't like to address (or admit) often is the fact that fans tend to grade on a curve or have a mobile moral compass if the player in question wears our colors. We've all experienced it. We might totally dislike a player on the opposing team for a myriad of reasons, but as soon as they put our jersey on, well, it's all good, and all is forgiven.
And that's where it gets a little tricky. Sports have always been an escape from our own reality and a dreamlike glimpse into a world of what some superhumans are capable of on a physical level. It has always been awe-inspiring to the masses. There are countless situations where society has overlooked or completely turned a blind eye to off the field indiscretions in order to keep an athlete's name and our conscience clean.
Hernandez had a difficult childhood. He lived a double life and, later on, suffered from the effects of an extreme case of CTE. None of those factors excuse what he did in any way, shape, or form.
We, as collectors and fans, have to separate the athlete from the actions or accept the person as a whole and act accordingly. There is no in-between and that could be an ugly moral struggle we all face in an otherwise incredibly fun, enjoyable, and important hobby.
Tony Reid spent more than a decade covering combat sports at the highest level. He has written hundreds of articles and conducted hundreds of interviews about sports collectibles for such publications as Beckett, Sports Collectors Digest, and Sports Collectors Daily. Reid worked full time at a sports card shop in Central Pennsylvania for a number of years. A lifelong collector, Tony treasures his rookie card collection of star players in baseball, basketball, and football. If you want to discuss the greatness of Michael Jordan, Bo Jackson or Ken Griffey Jr., you can reach him at @tonyreidwrites on all social media platforms