美国国家公共电台 NPR--Ex-Patriots star Aaron Hernandez sounded upbeat in final prison calls before suicide

Ex-Patriots¹ star Aaron Hernandez sounded upbeat in final prison calls before suicide

Transcript²

In a few short years, Aaron Hernandez moved from NFL star to murder suspect. The last phone calls from prison of the former New England Patriots tight end raise new questions about his death.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

In a few short years, Aaron Hernandez moved from NFL star to murder suspect. He was convicted of killing³ one person before being cleared of two other murders. In prison, Hernandez killed himself, and after his death, the former New England Patriots tight end was diagnosed with brain disease. And we want to note for listeners, this report includes several references to suicide. Member station WBUR and The Boston Globe have now obtained Hernandez's final phone calls from prison. As Todd Wallack reports, the calls add to questions around his death.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER: And that's Aaron Hernandez, a rookie tight end, inside the...

TODD WALLACK, BYLINE⁴: Aaron Hernandez quickly became a star after he was drafted by the New England Patriots, playing alongside future Hall of Famers like Tom Brady. He was considered one of the best tight ends in the league and made a Super Bowl appearance against the Giants in 2012. His career ended abruptly⁵ a year later when Hernandez was arrested and accused of killing three people. But in April 2017, he was acquitted⁶ of a double murder in Boston. And in his last phone calls from prison, Hernandez sounds jubilant.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

AARON HERNANDEZ: Another beautiful day, man - beautiful day, man. It's just like the whole world just came off my back.

WALLACK: Hernandez remained behind bars for another homicide, killing his friend Odin Lloyd. But he was appealing the case and seemed optimistic.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

HERNANDEZ: Thing work out perfect, man. I'm going to fight to the end to get myself home. When I touch down, it's game time, you know?

WALLACK: But just days after the acquittal, Hernandez killed himself. His attorney, George Leontire, struggled to understand why.

GEORGE LEONTIRE: It didn't make sense. I can only tell you we were shocked. I think everyone involved was shocked.

WALLACK: It's not unusual for someone to seem hopeful before a suicide, says Eileen Davis. She runs Call2Talk, a suicide prevention hotline.

EILEEN DAVIS: Oftentimes individuals that do take their own lives do sound more upbeat and positive in the hours, days, weeks prior to the actual suicide or suicide attempt.

WALLACK: She says that can make it hard to predict these deaths. Plus, suicide is complicated with lots of factors. In the case of Hernandez, one potential factor is that he had a brain disease called chronic⁷ traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. It's been linked to head injuries and contact sports like football. CTE can cause people to be aggressive or even violent. And researchers have seen many cases where people with CTE died by suicide.

ANN MCKEE: There's just a lot of impulsivity⁸ and very sudden changes in behavior.

WALLACK: That's Dr. Ann McKee, who leads Boston University's CTE Center. The disease can only be diagnosed after someone dies by examining samples of the brain under a microscope. McKee says Hernandez had one of the worst cases she'd ever seen in someone so young. He was just 27. Another possible factor is evidence that Hernandez smoked a synthetic⁹ drug called K2 in the days before his death. Nora Volkow is director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Volkow says K2 can have dangerous side effects, especially for people like Hernandez with brain injuries.

NORA VOLKOW: So it's a Russian roulette when people take these drugs because they do not know, first of all, what is the chemical they are consuming.

WALLACK: Eight hours after his last phone call, guards found Hernandez dead in his cell and religious writings on the walls in blood. The upbeat phone calls still leave many questions about his death, but the story is a stark¹⁰ reminder¹¹ of the problems with illegal drugs in prisons across the country and the risk of CTE athletes still face on the field today.

For NPR News, I'm Todd Wallack in Boston.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MART?NEZ: If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

1 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 abruptly   

adv.突然地，出其不意地

参考例句：

• He gestured abruptly for Virginia to get in the car.他粗鲁地示意弗吉尼亚上车。
• I was abruptly notified that a half-hour speech was expected of me.我突然被通知要讲半个小时的话。

6 acquitted   

宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现

参考例句：

• The jury acquitted him of murder. 陪审团裁决他谋杀罪不成立。
• Five months ago she was acquitted on a shoplifting charge. 五个月前她被宣判未犯入店行窃罪。

7 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

8 impulsivity   

认知的熟虑性？冲动性

参考例句：

• Fortifying executive function and restraining impulsivity are possible with active interventions. 积极干预可能有助加强执行功能和抑制冲动性。

9 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

10 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

11 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。