It was only a matter of time before Tim Tebow made a cameo in the ongoing Aaron Hernandez coverage. The former Florida teammates and (for about a week) Patriots teammates are at both ends of the image spectrum, and both names sell. Put them together, and it’s like flipping two of the striped pieces on that stupid candy game that I’m about to uninstall from my phone.
On Monday, Radar.com tried to cobble together a Tebow connection that felt a little forced and obvious -- Tebow reportedly encouraged Hernandez to come to Gainesville, and Tebow tried to help Hernandez stay out of trouble there.
The Orlando Sentinel has offered something more tangible, reporting that Tebow was present for the May 2007 altercation that resulted in Hernandez busting the eardrum of a restaurant employee with a punch.
“Tebow stated that he witnessed the dispute,” an officer wrote in the police report. “Tebow stated that he went over to try to help resolve the conflict.”
Key word: Try.
Tebow also was present when the police interviewed Hernandez, and the report points out that charges of underage drinking would not be pursued against Hernandez, but that they were being mentioned so that Florida “coaches could handle it internally.”
In other words, the cops did former Gators coach Urban Meyer a favor, and the media previously didn’t know about the incident. Now that Meyer is gone and Hernandez stands accused of one murder and is being investigated for two others, there’s no reason to protect either of them.