I don't care about AH but understanding his downfall and what lead him to make poor choice after poor choice could benefit others that may be faced with similar self-destructive choices.
This would be my humble take on things:
His dad reportedly kept him focused athletically, forced him to push his limits while training, etc, and was seen as a very positive influence in Aaron's life. Once he lost his dad in a very unexpected manner, that "shield" vanished and Aaron was left to deal with the ne'er-do-well friends/family that lived in Bristol. It doesn't take a genius to see how this could be a life changing event.
He was already reportedly a bit on the immature side, and likely developed some feelings of depression, grief, and even resentment towards others that may have exacerbated this immaturity. More importantly, any former "devil may care" attitude that he may have had was completely up and running now, and full blast at that. Consequences were not considered and he basically did what he wanted at UF. As we know, that was one of the main reasons why he dropped in the draft and was forced to reach out to NFL personnel via handwritten letters for his opportunity.
Mix in that "thug life" attitude of guns, experimentation with substance abuse, heavy tattoos that were mostly for street cred, possible gang affiliation (on some level) with fame and money and he likely blurred the lines of reality and what he could get away with. He embraced the tough guy image by carrying guns with him, continued to surround himself with the wrong people, and threw a very serious substance abuse problem (PCP) into the mix. I don't know that much about PCP or have any personal experience with it myself, but that's the type of drug that forces you to "hear" messages coming from the TV or shadows. It's straight up psycho stuff in terms of its powerful hallucinogenic effects. We can only speculate as to how much that may/may not have played a role in some of his actions.
Would everyone choose this course of action if presented with the same obstacles? Of course not, and we can look to someone like Nate Ebner as proof. That said, one can easily see how environmental factors helped to transform Aaron Hernandez from someone bordering as a dime-a-dozen thug to a clear cut murdering psychopath. In my opinion, the gap was probably closer that many people think, and that likely rings true for more of the NFL players than we'd care to admit. I'd be interested in comparing Ebner's surroundings and specifics (both lost their fathers in dramatic fashion) to what Hernandez experienced. I think the differences would be night and day in terms of support systems, family and friends, etc.
