Aaron Hernandez's Fiancee Sues New England Patriots, NFL

Aaron Hernandez's lawyer says the former New England Patriots tight end's brain showed severe signs of the degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy, aka CTE, according to ESPN.

At a news conference this afternoon, attorney Jose Baez says testing showed that Hernandez had a severe case of CTE, noting that Aaron was at Stage 3, with Stage 4 being the highest. Hernandez's fiancee, Shayanna Jenkins-Hernandez, says Aaron killed himself as a result of CTE and is reportedly suing the New England Patriots and the NFL for keeping him in the dark about the brain disease.

Hernandez killed himself in his jail cell back April while serving a life-without-parole sentence for a 2013 murder. His suicide came shortly after he was acquitted in the 2012 drive-by shootings of two men in Boston.

According to the report, Shayanna filed the lawsuit in Massachusetts on behalf of the daughter she had with Aaron. In the suit Shayanna says, "Aaron had stage 3 CTE usually seen in players with a median age of death of 67 years." She claims the NFL and the Patriots were aware of the link between suicidal impulses and CTE and failed to share that info with Hernandez. 

In the suit, Shayanna also claims that the NFL and the Patriots "were fully aware of the damage that could be inflicted from repetitive impact injuries and failed to disclose, treat or protect him from the dangers of such damage."

She and her daughter are seeking, "redress for the loss of parental consortium she has experienced based on the negligent conduct of Defendants that deprived her of the companionship and society of her father, Aaron Hernandez."

Aaron Hernandez