In the wake of the Aaron Hernandez arrest, some eyebrows were raised at the news that authorities were scanning his vast array of tattoos for evidence of gang connections. As it turns out, it’s standard practice when potentially putting inmates with rival gang ties in the same jail space.
Eyebrows are now being raised at the possibility the league will do the same thing.
According to Bruce Feldman of CBSSports.com, teams may now use police experts to check the tattoos of incoming prospects for evidence of gang connections. The examinations presumably would occur at the Scouting Combine, where new players are repeatedly poked and prodded and eyeballed.
Actually, it’s surprising that it doesn’t already happen. Five years ago, the NFL hired experts to study on-field celebrations in order to determine whether players were displaying gang signs. If the league is concerned about gang connections, looking at the evidence in plain sight on players arms, torso, and elsewhere would make plenty of sense.