Aaron Hernandez part of pre-Super Bowl tribute

Andrew Joseph | For The Win

Ahead of Sunday's Super Bowl LII, the NFL paid tribute to ex-players who had died in the past year with an "In Memoriam" video at U.S. Bank Stadium.

According to multiple reporters at the game, Aaron Hernandez was included in the video (albeit on a multi-photo slide).

To clarify, the Aaron Hernandez moment during the rollcall of players who passed away in 2017 was on a slide with a half-dozen relative unknowns which flashed almost too fast to read. — Mike Tanier 📎 (@MikeTanier) February 4, 2018

Other recent or well-known players were honored with photos or highlights on individual slides. I have no strong opinions on how Hernandez was *honored*, simply reporting. — Mike Tanier 📎 (@MikeTanier) February 4, 2018

As the photo of Hernandez flashed on the videoboard, reporters took to Twitter to question the NFL's decision to include the disgraced Patriots tight end - no matter how short.

The In Memoriam tribute just now, showing the NFL players who died this past year, included Aaron Hernandez.

??????????????? — mike freeman (@mikefreemanNFL) February 4, 2018

NFL honors the deceased up on the video board, including one Aaron Hernandez. — Tyler Dunne (@TyDunne) February 4, 2018

NFL running an in memoriam video tribute prior to #SuperBowlLII and many fans here surprised when Aaron Hernandez’s name appeared on screen — Eric Kay (@ekaycbs) February 4, 2018

Hernandez committed suicide in prison while serving a life sentence for the June 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd.

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