Ex-Patriot Brandon Spikes hypes Super Bowl 53 with Aaron Hernandez pic

May 2024 · 1 minute read

While the world was making preparations for Super Bowl LIII, former Patriots linebacker Brandon Spikes reached into the archives for an odd photo choice.

Spikes tweeted a picture of himself and former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez from Super Bowl XLVI with fire emojis and the hashtags #superbowl, #SuperBowlWeekend and #SuperBowlGameFace.

Hernandez died (ruled a suicide) in jail in 2017 while serving a life sentence for first-degree murder. He played one more season after appearing in Super Bowl XLVI — a 21-17 loss to the Giants — before being taken into custody in the summer of 2013 and charged with killing Odin Lloyd.

Spikes and Hernandez were teammates at Florida and both were drafted by the Patriots in 2010. Spikes has not played since 2016.

The tweet was largely met with criticism, though former Patriots wide receiver Randy Moss responded with a thumbs-up emoji.

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