Aaron Hernandez’s conviction on first-degree murder charges in the death of Odin Lloyd – the culmination of a horrifically violent year for the NFL – is more complex than you would think, my luncheon companion said.

At first glance, it would appear to be an open-and-shut case of the proverbial man who had everything and lost it. But this was no one-yard-line fumble in the Super Bowl. This was a one-yard-line fumble in the Super Bowl of life, the instance of a man who had a $40 million contract as a tight end with the New England Patriots and – Well, let’s call it as it is, shall we? – pissed it all away. When I think of the people I know with nothing or little whose lives would be transformed by a fraction of that money, I could weep.

But then there’s a lot about the Hernandez story to make you weep.

Partly it’s the cautionary tale of Being Careful of The Company You Keep – not just the company back in the ‘hood in Bristol, Conn. but the one you encounter up the food chain. It’s the story of a drug user with a hair-trigger temper and reflexes who must, of course, bear the ultimate responsibility for his actions. But it’s also a lesson in a system that protected a troubled high school and college athlete – rather than take the time and do the hard work of confronting his problems – because he was considered too talented (and potentially lucrative) to fail.

Former University of Florida Coach Urban Meyer led Hernandez in Bible study. Meyer also coached Tim Tebow. We knew Tim Tebow. Aaron Hernandez was no Tim Tebow. ...