“Love covers a multitude of sins.”
Wise words, no doubt. Wise words that most of us seem to believe in. Love is a virtue. Love is good and pure and right. Love “covering sin” makes sense. We, however, allow far more shallow things than love to “cover sin.”
Over the course of the past 2 weeks, we have watched the professional career of one NFL star come to a crashing halt. New England Patriots tight end, Aaron Hernandez, is currently incarcerated on charges of first degree murder. 11 days ago the body of a “friend” was found only a mile from Hernandez’s home. Hernandez has been denied bail.
As the events ensued and the cameras continued to roll — as for some reason, as a society, we are seemingly incredibly fascinated with every aspect of celebrity — we have learned the following:
… that Hernandez received “deferred prosecution” after being arrested following a fight shortly after arriving at the University of Florida in 2007…
… that not too long after the fall fight Hernandez was questioned by police about an early morning Gainesville shooting…
… that Hernandez was at a Boston nightclub last summer when a double homicide occurred…
… that Hernandez is being sued for shooting the eye out of a friend this past February in Miami, upon leaving a local strip club…
… that his multiple tattoos are now being scrutinized for gang identification…
While we should be well aware that no verdict of guilt has been rendered, it astounds this semi-humble observer that the above seems only news now. It is obvious that something far different than love has “covered” Hernandez so-called sins.
To date, when Hernandez has run onto the field, the fans have enthusiastically cheered. He earned All-American honors in college, was named an NFL All Star in only his second professional year, and the contract he signed with the Patriots just last summer was reportedly worth up to $40 million.
All that for a man currently incarcerated.
Friends, I will never be the thrower of the first or second stone. The Intramuralist will forever be an encourager of forgiveness and the giver of second, third, and forty-seventh chances. However, forgiveness and forty-seventh chances do not equate to an ignorance of truth. They do not equate to a so-called “covering” or blindness in which we no longer wrestle with reality. There have been multiple activities over Aaron Hernandez’s career which depict a character that doesn’t seem so worthy of cheering when he takes his place on the field. But yet our sports-crazed loyalties and our societal fascination with celebrity have undoubtedly covered a multitude of sins.
It’s why so many overlooked Tiger Wood’s terrible temper because he was such a fantastic golfer — and yes, that temper was readily apparent even before his rampant infidelity. It’s why so many jumped on the Dallas Cowboys bandwagon when Jimmy Johnson became the head coach, even though he divorced his wife because of coaching. As he told the Dallas Morning News, the day Johnson was hired, he took his wife to dinner and fired her. “I told her, ‘I can either be head football coach of the Dallas Cowboys or married to you. I’ve decided to be head football coach of the Dallas Cowboys.’” But yet, so many celebrated the new, supposedly successful coach.
Yes, love indeed covers a multitude of sins. Sometimes we allow less virtuous aspects to do the same.
Respectfully,
AR