Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez died early Wednesday after hanging himself in his prison cell, The Associated Press reported.
The former New England Patriots tight end, who was serving a life sentence for a murder conviction, was found by guards just after 3 a.m. at the Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center in Shirley, Mass.
Department of Corrections spokesman Christopher Fallon said Hernandez hanged himself using a bed sheet and attempted to block the door to his cell.
{mosads}Last week, he was acquitted of a 2012 fatal shooting of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado, but he was still serving a life sentence for a 2013 shooting.
His death comes on the same day that President Trump is hosting the Super Bowl champion Patriots at the White House.
Many of the team’s players have said they don’t plan to attend the traditional visit to the White House, with some framing their choice to back out of the visit as a form of protest against the president.
In February, quarterback Tom Brady called visiting the White House a “great experience,” but encouraged his teammates to “make their own choice” about the meet-and-greet with the president.
“Everybody has their own choice,” Brady told “PFT Live” on Tuesday when asked about advice he would give to others who were undecided about joining the trip to the White House.
“Putting politics aside, it never was a political thing,” the five-time Super Bowl champion said of his multiple trips to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. “At least, it never was to me. It was something that was a privilege to do. It meant you won a championship and you got to experience something cool with your team, with your teammates.”
The AP reported that the club would likely not be commenting on Hernandez’s death on Wednesday.