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>>Those who died after the settlement was approved in April 2015 are not eligible for an award, but Hernandez’s family could argue for an exemption. An exempti

>>Those who died after the settlement was approved in April 2015 are not eligible for an award, but Hernandez’s family could argue for an exemption. An exemption should only be made if the money goes to the families of the victims. Why does the family of a murderer get a monetary reward? Even if it is proven the the CTE somehow cause him to commit the murders (which is a long shot), why would his family reap the benefits of the settlement?

smitherfield 9y ago
Not to mention that (IIRC) several of the murders he's thought to have committed occurred before he'd ever played in the NFL.
chickenfries 9y ago
I don't think it's about if CTE caused him to commit the murders, it's about if CTE caused him to commit suicide. Since CTA can only be diagnosed posthumously, I can see the argument that he had CTE before 2015 but was not properly diagnosed despite the clear risk of CTE to NFL players.
- nxsynonym 9y ago
  I see your point, unfortunately it will be hard to parse what the extent of the CTE was and how it affected him in combination with the results of his trial. I just know that if I were in the shoes of the victims families, it would be crushing to see the family of the murderer walk away with a payout.
  - chickenfries 9y ago
    I agree, it's a difficult argument but I think regardless of Hernandez's guilt it's clear that the NFL has not done enough about CTE. As for his family, I don't see why his family should not be compensated by the NFL for his CTE, regardless of his crimes. If my scumbag family member was killed because of negligence by their employer, I would still want their employer to compensate our family... two wrongs don't make a right, and we should still hold the NFL accountable.
watty 9y ago
It has nothing to do with murder and everything to do with suicide. The family is arguing that CTE caused or contributed to his suicide.
- nxsynonym 9y ago
  If he wasn't put in jail with a lifetime sentence would he still have committed suicide? Maybe. Maybe not. There's no was to know his thoughts leading up to the suicide.
  - criddell 9y ago
    For a civil case you don't have to prove it, you just have to be able to convince a jury that it's probably true.
nilved 9y ago
> Why does the family of a murderer get a monetary reward? Even if it is proven the the CTE somehow cause him to commit the murders (which is a long shot), why would his family reap the benefits of the settlement? Because the NFL is the murderer. Aaron was made ill by them to the extent he is not responsible for his actions. This is before you even get to the suicide.
- nick_ 9y ago
  They mean to raise the concern of the family receiving that money, instead of the state or a CTE research group, for example.
  - nilved 9y ago
    Good questions. The NFL has enough money for everyone affected.
- nxsynonym 9y ago
  How is the NFL responsible for those murders? He didn't start in the NFL until 2010, after he had already been involved in a double shooting and bar fight. Also, there is no direct evidence that CTE leads to murdering people.
x0x0 9y ago
Because his daughter, by being deprived of her father's presence and income, was also hurt by the actions that were quite possibly induced by the CTE he suffered. And while no one can know CTE caused Hernandez to kill people, it is known that CTE causes cognitive impairment, impulsive behavior, and emotional instability; aggression is a suspected symptom [1]. I don't think the idea that CTE made Hernandez' bad behavior more likely and/or more severe is easy to dismiss out of hand. [1] http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/basics/symptoms/con-20113581 http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-trauma...
- kolbe 9y ago
  I'm not sure how employable Aaron was without the NFL.
  - x0x0 9y ago
    Other sports perhaps? He really was a phenomenal athlete. His seasons with the patriots really did suggest he'd be an all time great TE.
    - Clubber 9y ago
      He could lose a bunch of weight and lose to Floyd Mayweather. :)
- jessaustin 9y ago
  Hernandez would never have gotten out of prison, and certainly not while still capable of playing ball professionally. How much could his income possible have been? The argument that he could have been a wealthy pro athlete without suffering CTE if only the NFL had done things differently, seems to contradict itself in several ways.
Clubber 9y ago
>Why does the family of a murderer get a monetary reward? Well, for one thing, unlike North Korea, we don't punish people's innocent family members for their crimes.
- nxsynonym 9y ago
  How is not awarding millions of dollars for no reason a punishment?
  - loeg 9y ago
    If they would otherwise be entitled to the award, then restricting that award is equivalent to punishment by fine of the same degree.
  - Clubber 9y ago
    >Why does the family of a murderer get a monetary reward? He is suggesting even with a settlement, the family shouldn't get any because of what Hernandez' crimes were. Without a will, immediate family is the default recipient of that sort of thing.
  - emodendroket 9y ago
    Well it wouldn't be "no reason", would it?
criddell 9y ago
So the Hernandez family's ability to sue should be linked to what kind of person Aaron was? How does that makes sense?

smitherfield 9y ago

Not to mention that (IIRC) several of the murders he's thought to have committed occurred before he'd ever played in the NFL.

chickenfries 9y ago

I don't think it's about if CTE caused him to commit the murders, it's about if CTE caused him to commit suicide. Since CTA can only be diagnosed posthumously, I can see the argument that he had CTE before 2015 but was not properly diagnosed despite the clear risk of CTE to NFL players.

nxsynonym 9y ago
I see your point, unfortunately it will be hard to parse what the extent of the CTE was and how it affected him in combination with the results of his trial. I just know that if I were in the shoes of the victims families, it would be crushing to see the family of the murderer walk away with a payout.
- chickenfries 9y ago
  I agree, it's a difficult argument but I think regardless of Hernandez's guilt it's clear that the NFL has not done enough about CTE. As for his family, I don't see why his family should not be compensated by the NFL for his CTE, regardless of his crimes. If my scumbag family member was killed because of negligence by their employer, I would still want their employer to compensate our family... two wrongs don't make a right, and we should still hold the NFL accountable.

watty 9y ago

It has nothing to do with murder and everything to do with suicide. The family is arguing that CTE caused or contributed to his suicide.

nxsynonym 9y ago
If he wasn't put in jail with a lifetime sentence would he still have committed suicide? Maybe. Maybe not. There's no was to know his thoughts leading up to the suicide.
- criddell 9y ago
  For a civil case you don't have to prove it, you just have to be able to convince a jury that it's probably true.

nilved 9y ago

> Why does the family of a murderer get a monetary reward? Even if it is proven the the CTE somehow cause him to commit the murders (which is a long shot), why would his family reap the benefits of the settlement? Because the NFL is the murderer. Aaron was made ill by them to the extent he is not responsible for his actions. This is before you even get to the suicide.

nick_ 9y ago
They mean to raise the concern of the family receiving that money, instead of the state or a CTE research group, for example.
- nilved 9y ago
  Good questions. The NFL has enough money for everyone affected.
nxsynonym 9y ago
How is the NFL responsible for those murders? He didn't start in the NFL until 2010, after he had already been involved in a double shooting and bar fight. Also, there is no direct evidence that CTE leads to murdering people.

x0x0 9y ago

Because his daughter, by being deprived of her father's presence and income, was also hurt by the actions that were quite possibly induced by the CTE he suffered. And while no one can know CTE caused Hernandez to kill people, it is known that CTE causes cognitive impairment, impulsive behavior, and emotional instability; aggression is a suspected symptom [1]. I don't think the idea that CTE made Hernandez' bad behavior more likely and/or more severe is easy to dismiss out of hand. [1] http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-traumatic-encephalopathy/basics/symptoms/con-20113581 http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/chronic-trauma...

kolbe 9y ago
I'm not sure how employable Aaron was without the NFL.
- x0x0 9y ago
  Other sports perhaps? He really was a phenomenal athlete. His seasons with the patriots really did suggest he'd be an all time great TE.
  - Clubber 9y ago
    He could lose a bunch of weight and lose to Floyd Mayweather. :)
jessaustin 9y ago
Hernandez would never have gotten out of prison, and certainly not while still capable of playing ball professionally. How much could his income possible have been? The argument that he could have been a wealthy pro athlete without suffering CTE if only the NFL had done things differently, seems to contradict itself in several ways.

Clubber 9y ago

>Why does the family of a murderer get a monetary reward? Well, for one thing, unlike North Korea, we don't punish people's innocent family members for their crimes.

nxsynonym 9y ago
How is not awarding millions of dollars for no reason a punishment?
- loeg 9y ago
  If they would otherwise be entitled to the award, then restricting that award is equivalent to punishment by fine of the same degree.
- Clubber 9y ago
  >Why does the family of a murderer get a monetary reward? He is suggesting even with a settlement, the family shouldn't get any because of what Hernandez' crimes were. Without a will, immediate family is the default recipient of that sort of thing.
- emodendroket 9y ago
  Well it wouldn't be "no reason", would it?

criddell 9y ago

So the Hernandez family's ability to sue should be linked to what kind of person Aaron was? How does that makes sense?