Murder trial of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez begins with jury selection

FALL RIVER, Mass. – The murder trial of former NFL star Aaron Hernandez began Friday, another headache for America’s most popular pro sport.

The National Football League, which has been beset by domestic abuse scandals, could see New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft called as witnesses in the trial.

Hernandez, 25, is charged with killing Odin Lloyd, a 27-year-old semiprofessional football player from Boston who was dating the sister of Hernandez’s fiancee. At the time of the killing June 17, 2013, Hernandez had a $40 million contract with the Patriots.

Hundreds of jurors were expected to file through on the first day of the selection process.

The court was strictly enforcing a special rule imposed by the judge for the duration of the trial, which bans from the courthouse logos for the Patriots, NFL or any football-related insignia, or words or photographs relating to the case. One man wearing a Boston Bruins jersey and waiting in a security line near potential jurors yelled out, “Go Pats!” and was kicked out of the courthouse.

The trial, expected to last six to 10 weeks, will not be the end of Hernandez’s legal troubles. He faces separate murder charges in Boston, where he is accused of killing two men after one of them accidentally spilled a drink on him at a nightclub in 2012. The trial date has not yet been set.

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