Pats offer free No. 81 jersey swaps
 

Nice gesture; nit sure how much of it is PR motivated

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The New England Patriots have had a reputation throughout the Bill Belichick-Tom Brady era for valuing character as much as actual talent, but that reputation has taken a serious hit lately.

The murder charge levied against Aaron Hernandez in the slaying of Odin Lloyd and subsequent revelation that the ex-Patriots tight end also reportedly is being investigated in a 2012 double homicide, in the eyes of many, has destroyed a lot of that Patriots mystique that had been so prevalent over the past decade in the NFL.

It has become immediately clear that the Patriots are going to do everything they can to separate themselves from the Hernandez situation.

The first step was obvious: releasing the tight end from his contract. But Robert Kraft and the rest of the New England front office have gone a step further by offering fans an opportunity to exchange their No. 81 Hernandez jerseys at the Patriots ProShop.

The swap will be held on July 6 and 7 at the ProShop, and jersey owners will have the ability to exchange their No. 81 for the jersey of any other Patriots player. The exchange is for jerseys available in the ProShop only and is limited to one per person.

"We know that children love wearing their Patriots jerseys, but may not understand why parents don’t want them wearing their Hernandez jerseys anymore," team spokesperson Stacey James said in a news release. "We hope this opportunity to exchange those jerseys at the Patriots ProShop for another player’s jersey will be well received by parents."

If people were skeptical about how the Patriots were handling the Hernandez situation, they should not be now. This is a classy, fan-friendly move by Bob Kraft and the franchise.

Patriots offering Aaron Hernandez jersey exchange - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN

Re: Pats offer free No. 81 jersey swaps
 

Did he plead guilty? I read one report that he did...either way, this PR move had to be made before that event which I have a problem with. If he's guilty then decent gesture but to hang someone before that event...as Saints fans we know all too well what that felt like. There is a big effin problem in this country of calling someone guilty first then wondering what happened when they are proven innocent. I admit, things don't look good for him but it didn't for that lacrosse team, the Saints, and now Zimmerman.

Re: Pats offer free No. 81 jersey swaps
 

Great move by the Pats.

Re: Pats offer free No. 81 jersey swaps
 

And if it was you and you were completely innocent would it be a great move?
All I'm saying is wait until the man in convicted then do the Jersey swap. It's the least they could do considering the whole organization were criminals for years.

Re: Pats offer free No. 81 jersey swaps
 

Yeah he's innocent until proven guilty. But that only applies in the court room. OJ was found not guilty but does anybody really think he was innocent?

We're not on a jury so we can look at the facts that have been presented and come to our own conclusion. The same goes for the people who knew him on a day to day basis, his employers and team mates. The Patriots management know him well enough to know that they don't want to be associated with this guy. They have the right to make that decision.

Re: Pats offer free No. 81 jersey swaps
 

I know what your saying. I know Aaron. Nobody here more then me wants to believe in his innocence. This hurts. It hurts a lot. I have a bad feeling about this. Man he always had a big smile on his face. He was always excited to see you. I feel for his mom, brother and his sister. I want to remember him as the kid i new not this Aaron.

Re: Pats offer free No. 81 jersey swaps
 

They're jumping the gun. I hope he beats the charges. I hope he comes to the Saints. Football players play football. What they do off the field is no concern of mine. I pass no judgment. God can handle that.

Re: Pats offer free No. 81 jersey swaps
 

i didn't know hernandez, but i am hurt by what he's has supposedly done. its crazy but i feel terrible for him and the people he supposedly hurt/killed. the guy is a man but damm 23 years old, what in the fujc is he thinking. is he some kind of thug nobody knew about, had to be. the Pats of all teams, wow.

Re: Pats offer free No. 81 jersey swaps
 

All teams have plenty of thugs. We're talking about the majority of players coming from the projects and hoods of America then everybody acts surprised when crazy things happen. Belichick took chances on Chad, Moss, Fred Taylor, Brandon Spikes, the list goes on. They just do a good job of keeping them out of trouble when they get there.

Re: Pats offer free No. 81 jersey swaps
 

I'm just sick of the media and the general feeble mindedness of people. At the end of the day it doesn't matter what any of us think unless we are on that jury. What the Pats did is say the man is guilty. Let's say by some longshot he's proven innocent. Then what? Are they going to re-swap out the jersey. Will they re-sign him? How much are they going to have to dish out in a lawsuit, and us, taxpayer money trying to get get closure on it. Just wait until the man is convicted.

On April 11, 2007, North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper dropped all charges and declared the three players innocent. Cooper stated that the charged players – Reade Seligmann, Collin Finnerty, and David Evans – were victims of a "tragic rush to accuse."[9] The initial prosecutor for the case, Durham County's District Attorney Mike Nifong, who was labeled a "rogue prosecutor" by Cooper, withdrew from the case in January 2007 after the North Carolina State Bar filed ethics charges against him. That June, Nifong was disbarred for "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation", making Nifong the first prosecutor in North Carolina history to lose his law license based on actions in a case. Nifong was found guilty of criminal contempt and served one day in jail.[10] Mangum never faced any charges for her false accusations as Cooper declined to prosecute her

Richard Jewell: never being officially charged, he underwent a "trial by media" with great toll on his personal and professional life. Eventually he was completely exonerated and Eric Robert Rudolph was later found to have been the bomber. In 2006, Governor Sonny Perdue publicly thanked Jewell on behalf of the state of Georgia for saving the lives of those at the Olympics.





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Re: Pats offer free No. 81 jersey swaps
 

If it was Chicago they'd raise the jersey price and make a fortune!

Re: Pats offer free No. 81 jersey swaps
 

I do not like the patriots, but man I do respect them. Not just for this jersey thing, but overall how they run their program.

Re: Pats offer free No. 81 jersey swaps
 

Good job by the Patriots.