Sumith Prasad
The fourth episode of FX’s crime drama series ‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez’ begins with DJ Hernandez seeing his maternal uncle, Robert Valentine, coming out of the room of his brother, Aaron Hernandez. After “Uncle Bobby” left him, the young boy sat on his bed, visibly unsettled. The football player recollects the incident when DJ tells him that the latter has been protecting him since they were children, only for him to lash out at his sibling. The episode implies that Bobby, who went to prison for exposing himself on a school bus, molested Aaron when he was a child. The reality, as we know it, differs drastically from the show’s depiction.
Robert Valentine Was Never Identified as Aaron Hernandez’s Molester
Robert Valentine was one of the brothers of Terri Hernandez, Aaron Hernandez’s mother. Patrick Valentine, his sibling, described him as a “hard-working” man who preferred to keep to himself. ‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez’ presents Robert as the individual who seemingly molested the football player. In reality, however, he was never recognized as a sexual abuser. Furthermore, he reportedly wasn’t also arrested for exposing himself on a school bus as the crime drama claims, which indicates that his portrayal in the series is entirely fictional. However, it doesn’t mean that Aaron wasn’t molested as a child. According to the athlete’s brother, DJ Hernandez, the former was abused by a different individual.
In his book, ‘The Truth About Aaron: My Journey to Understand My Brother,’ DJ alleged that one of the older boys at their babysitter’s house “forced Aaron into [a] tent” while playing indoor hide-and-seek when the latter was six years old, the same age in which Uncle Bobby seemingly molested him in the crime drama series. The unnamed individual reportedly attended high school at the time, was a bully, and had a brother who scared the Hernandez siblings with knives. Although DJ and Aaron spent their time together, as per the former’s book, the eldest of the two had no idea what was happening to his brother.
DJ’s book states that Aaron disclosed the alleged molestation to Terri when the football player was in prison after murdering Odin Lloyd. “Aaron finally told her about one of the demons that had been haunting him all these years. He told her how the older boy would force him to perform oral sex. Aaron said it started when he was six years old and continued for several years,” reads ‘The Truth About Aaron.’ George Leontire, one of the NFL player’s lawyers, recalled to The Boston Globe that his client seemingly thought that the molestation made him gay. While this particular and unsettling incident happened in Aaron’s real life, there is no evidence to suggest that Robert was involved in the same.
Robert Valentine Passed Away More Than a Decade Ago
Robert Valentine passed away on August 3, 2013, at the age of 49, due to a single-vehicle crash. Right before his death, he was driving a 2012 Sunny moped on Central Street in Bristol, Connecticut. The police report states that the vehicle then “struck the curb along the right side of the roadway,” only for him to be thrown away from the same. Robert landed in a private driveway, hit a curb, and died shortly after the incident. Unfortunately, he didn’t wear a helmet at the time.
Soon after the accident occurred, firefighters arrived on the scene to treat Robert, and a Life Star medical helicopter was called to the site. Still, he tragically passed away before he could be transported to a hospital. At the time, he shared a house with his brother, Patrick Valentine. After his death, a toxicology test was arranged by the authorities, and its result showed that there was alcohol and cocaine in his system. The police further concluded that Robert drove his moped in a “negligent manner” with dark-colored sunglasses, which might have hampered his vision and played a part in causing the accident.
After Robert’s death, Patrick celebrated his memory by describing him as the “best guy in the world” with three “beautiful” daughters. He also added that the deceased, as a “great father,” loved taking his children out to restaurants or swimming pools. From what DJ and Patrick shared with the world about their respective brothers’ lives, the real-life Robert was drastically different from his portrayal in ‘American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez.’ The crime drama must have relied on fiction to increase the impact associated with the revelation of Aaron’s experiences as an alleged victim of child molestation.
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