Former Patriots LB Brandon Spikes tweets old Super Bowl photo that featured Aaron Hernandez

Former NFL linebacker Brandon Spikes was part of the Patriots team that lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI in 2012, and to commemorate New England’s return to the game hours before Super Bowl LIII, he posted a controversial photo to his verified Twitter account.

In the image, Spikes is standing at midfield at Lucas Oil Stadium next to former Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez. Hernandez committed suicide in jail in 2017 while serving a life sentence without parole for the 2013 killing of his friend Odin Lloyd.

Spikes and Hernandez were teammates for three seasons, from 2010 through 2012.

Hernandez was convicted of Lloyd’s murder in 2015, though the conviction was later thrown out. Citing a legal principle in the state that returns a case to its pretrial status if a defendant dies before it is heard, a Massachusetts judge threw out the conviction in May 2017 after Hernandez had committed suicide.

Spikes, 31, played six seasons in the NFL, including four with the Patriots, who selected him in the second round of the 2010 draft. He then played two seasons with the Bills before going unsigned after the 2016 season.

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