“The boy will end up in the Hall of Fame. Or in prison.”

In 2013, New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez was arrested for the murder of Odin Lloyd, the boyfriend of his fiancée’s sister. This was not the only serious crime he was accused of. Hernandez was eventually convicted and died in prison, apparently by suicide. Hernandez was a 27-year-old who felt he had run out of excuses and options. His health before his death was marked by beliefs that he was suffering from paranoia, sexual identity issues, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

A lot happens in the first episode of the new anthology series American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez, from Ryan Murphy and his team of writers and directors. Based on the podcast Gladiator: Aaron Hernandez and Football Inc., the show’s first season centers on the New England-born NFL player (Josh Andrés Rivera) whose fall from grace can be examined from every angle, from murder to possible queerness. The first episode immediately takes liberties with portraying a man struggling with his upbringing.

His verbally abusive father makes comments about how to stand without looking like a “faggot.” We see the young athlete’s meteoric rise through college recruitment to become a professional football superstar. The first few episodes introduce Hernandez and his inner circle, flanked by the death of his father and the problematic friendships he makes along the way.

Hernandez, a tight end for the Florida Gators, befriended devout Christian teammate Tim Tebow, portrayed in the series by actor Patrick Schwarzenegger. Other teammates and coaches seemed to excuse the young player’s early criminal behavior, ignoring obvious warning signs that would haunt everyone after his murderous mood swings. Hernandez’s college coaches, childhood friends, family and everyone in between let his escalating anger issues and drug addiction run wild in pursuit of possible NFL stardom.

Much of American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez explores the player’s rise and fall, his personal struggles, and the possibility that CTE had something to do with the murder he eventually commits. What creators Stu Zicherman and Murphy find more intriguing about the real-life character, however, are the rumors of his homosexuality, which may have affected his personal and professional relationships. While these remain rumors in real life and are confirmed by Hernandez’s family, who claim he eventually came out to them in prison, Zicherman and Murphy focus entirely on the early 2000s mentality that homosexuality was pretty much the worst thing imaginable among athletes. A feature of Aaron Hernandez’s life that he surely wanted to keep secret, given the cultural attitudes toward the subject at the time.

American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez takes viewers on a 10-episode journey through the life and struggles of the titular fallen angel. Child abuse, affairs with a male high school friend and a stretching therapist, college orgies, drug dealing, being drafted to the New England Patriots, having a baby with his fiancée Shayanna (Jaylen Barron), and numerous instances of criminal activity are mere footnotes in a series that is heavily preoccupied with motives and backgrounds. It is overtly sexual in a way that defines Hernandez’s life as a womanizer on the outside and a depressed, self-hating homophobe on the inside.

The show assumes that all the events leading up to Hernandez’s murder conviction are a direct result of his way of not coming out and his grappling with what it means to be seen as masculine, especially in the early to mid-2000s. A sea of ​​Hollister shirts and “Fergalicious” on the radio set the tone for Hernandez’s life and his eventual madness. There is no nuance here, as viewers are taken on a wild ride of partying and power at a young age.

Rivera takes a vulnerable character like Aaron Hernandez and makes it possible to not only empathize with the real-life figure, but also believe in his self-doubt and emotional instability. The “West Side Story” actor’s physical transformation from teenage athlete to NFL muscleman is a slow change that parallels the character’s infamous outbursts. It’s a wonderful performance that sets all the stage for a rocket-like launch for a young actor taking his first steps in Hollywood.

Although Rivera’s smile melts hearts between his character’s horrific actions on screen, there are no moments of coffee-making fun in “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” like those spawned by Murphy’s sister series, “American Crime Story.” This new series is full of lifelike portrayals of famous names like fellow tight end Rob Gronkowski, Patriots coach Bill Belichick and owner Robert Kraft, who are reduced to caricatures. At one point, Belichick (Tony winner Norbert Leo Butz) says to Hernandez, “Are you a tight end or a receiver?”

Such dialogues clearly and cheekily indicate that everyone suspects that something is wrong with Aaron Hernandez, even if they can’t say exactly what.

American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez risks being a stain on sports history by portraying a man with the talent to go further than anyone else in his sport, yet the system around him is designed to protect him from the worst things he does along the way.

The portrayal of Hernandez as a closeted gay man struggling with his identity reaches a boiling point when all he cares about is his image. The current dismissal of head injuries because they are linked to immorality is intriguing, but it’s treated as a side story in a series that focuses more heavily on the salacious moments in the NFL player’s life and death.

“American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” premieres Tuesday, September 17 on FX and streams on Hulu the next day.