“American Sports Story” by Aaron Hernandez was a smash hit. His childhood played a role: psychologist

This story is about suicide. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

It has been over seven years since former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez died by suicide after being convicted of murder in Massachusetts. As a new series draws attention back to the case, a forensic psychologist believes his traumatic childhood and severe brain injuries may have been factors that led to his fall from sports stardom.

“I think people look at this and think, 'This man had everything to live for. He was in the NFL. …How could he do that?' “But what people don't understand is that, psychologically, an encounter at a young age can really impact the way they feel about themselves and how they express anger, emotions and even their impulse control,” says the forensic psychologist Helen Smith told Fox News Digital.

In 2015, Hernandez was found guilty of first-degree murder and five firearms charges in connection with the death of 27-year-old Odin Lloyd. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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Aaron Hernandez (left) sits with his attorney Charles Rankin during his trial in Bristol Superior Court on February 11, 2015 in Fall River, Mass. (Associated Press)

Hernandez was also charged in another double murder case in 2014, but was acquitted in 2017. He was accused of murdering Daniel de Abreu, 29, and Safiro Furtado, 28, in a drive-by shooting outside a Boston nightclub in July 2012.

Days after the acquittal, Hernandez was found hanging in his prison cell and his death was ruled a suicide.

The former NFL superstar's downfall is revisited in the latest Hulu FX series “American Sports Story.” The show “explores the diverse aspects of his identity, his family, his career, his suicide and their legacy in sports and American culture,” the streaming service's description says.

After his death, Hernandez was diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Ann McKee, a professor of neurology and pathology who examined Hernandez's brain at the time, said he had the most severe case of CTE she had seen in someone his age.

“It’s an essential part of football,” she said. “Every time you have a tackle or a collision, these fast forces are going to act on the brain. … That’s one of the difficulties in ensuring the safety of football.”

CTE is a disease that occurs in athletes and others who have suffered repeated concussions and other brain trauma associated with dementia, mood swings and aggression.

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Aaron Hernandez leaves the field after coming up short in the final game of the Super Bowl against the New York Giants at Lucas Oil Stadium on February 5, 2012. (Matthew West/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)

“Brain injury generally results from a concussion or multiple blows to the head. And although these injuries can damage the frontal lobes, they can make people more prone to depression and certain aggressions,” Smith said.

“But so far there has been no serious or clear connection between a person's specific behavior, such as murder. So far it can be linked to the fact that maybe this was part of what happened in Aaron Hernandez, his case. But was it ultimately the only one.” What led to his downfall in these murders? Probably not, it's a combination of all factors.

Hernandez's brother, Jonathan Hernandez, wrote about these factors and his brother's childhood and secrets in his book, “The Truth About Aaron: My Journey to Understand My Brother.”

In the book, Jonathan reveals that Aaron was sexually abused as a child by an older boy.

“I have done therapy with men who have had this happen to them and it is extremely traumatic. And in all the cases that I can think of, every one of these men that this happened to, at least the men that saw me, had violence or … “angry tendencies that they were struggling with,” Smith said.

“That early experience for Aaron Hernandez of an older teenager maybe physically and maybe violently abusing him would definitely have laid the groundwork for that.”

She believes Hernandez's young age was a key factor in the lasting effects of this abuse.

“This boy abused him, and being a six-year-old boy and being abused by someone of the same gender at that point, I think it affects a boy very deeply,” Smith explained. “A 6-year-old can't process that kind of information and is at a stage where things look kind of black and white, and it might even leave him stagnant at that stage.”

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Former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez attends an evidentiary hearing in Bristol County Superior Court in Fall River, Massachusetts, on October 2, 2014. (Reuters/CJ Gunther/Pool)

Hernandez's brother said in his book that their father violently abused them when they were little boys.

“He views his father as his protector, and not only does his father not protect him, he abuses him and beats him,” Smith said. “The fact that he had a father who couldn't control himself meant he was learning, and it could even be genetic.”

Smith believes the violence in the home and her father's early death were factors in Hernandez's later behavior.

“When he was 16, his father died tragically… and that probably even set him on the path. … When his father died, I almost thought, 'Who am I going to blame now?'” she said. “He had all this anger inside him, all these things that happened to him, and dad is gone. And so that anger could be directed at any male figure or male person who comes into his life, who doesn't respect him, who may have said something negative for him.

Jonathan also revealed in the book that while Aaron was behind bars, he confided in his mother that he was gay.

“I hated living a secret and I hated all the lies, but I felt like I had to do all those things because people wouldn't accept me,” Aaron said, according to Jonathan's book. “There was no way for me to come out as an NFL player.”

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“He tried to hide from the world, just as he tried to hide the part of him that was abused from his father. And then at the same time he's angry because he wants to be who he is,” Smith said. “When he was younger, he couldn't protect himself… and now he's maybe at the point where, you know, a grown man who can say, 'Look, I'm going to protect myself no matter what.'” But he goes too far.