In the hours leading up to Super Bowl LII on Sunday, the NFL honored ex-players who passed away in the previous year with an "In Memoriam" video that was displayed on video boards at U.S. Bank Stadium.
One of those players was former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez, according to several reporters in attendance. Hernandez was found dead in his jail cell in April after committing suicide while serving a life sentence in prison for a murder conviction.
Bleacher Report writer Mike Tanier explained that Hernandez was included on a slide with several other players during the tribute.
Apparently, other high-profile players were given their own slides, while Hernandez was included on a group slide that flashed on the screen quickly—making it difficult to read.
Regardless of his limited appearance in the video tribute, the NFL is already receiving backlash from people who believe the move was in poor taste and offensive to the families involved with Hernandez' murder case.
Hernandez' appearance in the NFL's tribute comes two weeks after Boston TV station WCVB accidentally included a photo of Hernandez in a tweet about the Patriots' win over the Jaguars. The photo was sent out with a link to a story about the Patriots making their return trip to the Super Bowl. The station quickly deleted the tweet after realizing their mistake.
