Aaron Hernandez’s ‘God Forgives’ Back Tattoo Explained in American Sports Story

WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for episode 6 of American Sports Story.

American sports history In episode 6, “Herald Street,” Aaron Hernandez gets one of his most notable and potentially distressing tattoos. Josh Rivera directs that American sports history Cast as Aaron Hernandez, the former college and NFL superstar tight end who was convicted in 2015 of murdering semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd. The first two episodes of American sports history Get a basic overview of Aaron Hernandez’s complicated upbringing and accelerated path to the Florida Gator before joining the NFL’s New England Patriots in 2010. American sports history portrays several NFL players including Hernandez, Rob Gronkowski, Tom Brady and Tim Tebow.

American sports history Episode 3 talks about Hernandez’s celebrity status at the He attended the University of Florida before finally declaring for the 2010 NFL Draft. American Sports Story Episode 4 details Hernandez’s transition from a 2010 John Mackey Award winner to a plummeting draft stock before the NFL Draft due to off-the-field concerns. American sports history Episode 5 chronicles Hernandez’s early days as a rookie with the New England Patriots and explores the influences of his new head coach Bill Belichick, while Episode 6 depicts a violent shootout in which Hernandez was allegedly involved with his friend Sherrod.

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Why Aaron Hernandez Got a “God Forgives” Tattoo: Meaning Explained

Hernandez got it just weeks before his arrest for the murder of Odin Lloyd

American sports history Episode 6 features Josh Rivera’s dramatized portrayal of Aaron Hernandez getting a “God Forgives” tattoo in the middle of his back. The tattoo is upside down, making it readable only in the mirror, which is a notable feature that sets it apart from the real Hernadnez’s other tattoos. American sports history continually shows Hernandez’s habit of getting tattooswhich started when he was a standout tight end at the University of Florida. Some of Hernandez’s friends and love interests on the show point out his tattoos, including his high school teammate Dennis SanSocuie, who sees them as a change in Hernandez’s character.

While American sports history features a fairly accurate recreation of Hernandez’s tattoos on Rivera’s body, the series places particular emphasis on his “God Forgives” tattoo. In the series, Hernandez gets the tattoo shortly after the alleged murder of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado in a drive-by shooting in Boston’s Theater District. The series shows Hernandez bizarrely killing two men who spilled a drink on him at a nightclub, something the real Hernandez was accused of doing in 2017. Prosecutors presented Hernandez’s “God Forgives” tattoo and other images of guns and bullet casings as evidence that Hernandez was guilty of double murder.

Aaron Hernadez’s tattoos are linked to his other crimes

Two gun tattoos indicate two separate shootings

While not all of Hernandez’s tattoos were considered incriminating evidence, prosecutors did believe that some of them were essentially admissions of guilt for various acts of violence. They believed that one of Hernandez’s tattoos on his arm show the chamber of a revolver with five bullets trapped insidewhich is consistent with the prosecution’s theory that Hernandez shot Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado with five bullets. While American sports history While Hernandez is not seen onscreen getting a tattoo of guns and bullets, the “God Forgives” tattoo is intended to express Hernandez’s potentially incriminating actions.

The alleged murders of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, for which Hernandez was found not guilty in 2017, occurred in July 2012, before Hernandez received a five-year, $40 million contract extension from the New England Patriots, and only five Months after Hernandez and the Patriots played in Super Bowl XLVI. The case was considered unsolved until Hernandez was arrested in June 2013 and charged with the murder of Odin Lloyd, which raised suspicions of his involvement after he and Avery S. Bradley and Sherrod, respectively, were involved ASSwere seen at the same Boston nightclub as de Abreu and Furtado the night they were killed. Hernandez also had another tattoo of a pistol and a bullet casingwhich prosecutors claimed was evidence that he shot Bradley in the face in Florida.

American Sports Story misstates the location of Aaron Hernandez’s “God Forgives” tattoo

The series moves it from his arm to the middle of his back

American sports history intentionally misplaced Hernandez’s “God Forgives” tattoo in Episode 6, moving it from his right arm to the middle of his back in the series. The most obvious reason for this, however, is the dramatic effect The series creates the impression that Hernandez was guilty of double murder when in reality he was acquitted of both charges. American sports history Producers have expressed their belief that Hernandez did indeed kill de Abreu and Furtado in cold blood and that the jury made a mistake. This would explain why they changed the size, shape and position of Hernandez’s “God Forgives” tattoo, portraying it as a direct admission of guilt American sports history.