FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The New England Patriots didn’t wait for Aaron Hernandez’s legal troubles to play themselves out.
Two hours after police arrested Hernandez but before he was charged with murder in court on Wednesday afternoon, the Patriots cut the tight end who had signed a five-year deal with New England just last summer.
“Words cannot express the disappointment we feel knowing that one of our players was arrested as a result of this investigation. We realize that law enforcement investigations into this matter are ongoing,” the team said in a statement.
Hernandez was taken from his home in handcuffs early Wednesday, more than a week after a Boston semi-pro football player was found dead in an industrial park a mile from Hernandez’s house. He was arraigned later in the day and charged with murder.
Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old member of the Boston Bandits, was found slain June 17. Officials ruled the death a homicide but did not say how Lloyd died.
The 23-year-old Hernandez was an All-American at Florida and part of a tight end duo in New England that was among the league’s most productive.
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