Aaron Hernandez says he failed one drug test, not several

One day after the Boston Globe reported that New England Patriots rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez flunked multiple drug tests for marijuana usage at the University of Florida, the fourth-round pick has issued a statement through the team where he said he only tested positive once.

It looks like a bit of damage control.

“Leading up to the draft, I provided every interested NFL team with all the information asked of me about football and my personal life," Hernandez said. "I was as candid as I could possibly be about everything, including my one single violation of the team’s substance testing policy over the course of three years at the University of Florida.

"That is why I was very surprised and disappointed by the recent inaccurate report of additional violations. I regret what happened, I learned from it and will make better decisions going forward. I couldn’t be more excited about beginning my NFL career and representing the New England Patriots well."

Hernandez told teams that he used drugs following his father's death.

“It’s not like he failed one test,’’ an AFC scout said. “He had repeated issues with it, to the point where you worry about whether he’ll be able to lay off the stuff at our level. To be honest, he’s super talented and, even with the issues, I’m surprised he fell as far he did.

“Depending on who you talk to, some people thought he was a late first- or early second-round prospect. Eventually, the risk was overcome by the value.’’

Added an AFC personnel director: "These kids, they don’t get it. [Hernandez] cost himself a lot of money.’’

Another executive said: “He had multiple positive tests, so he either had issues or he’s dumb. One or two tests? Fine. But four, five, six? Come on, now you’ve got an addiction. He’s not a bad kid. He just has an issue.’’

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