That is the dilemma for 12 jurors and six alternates in the Massachusetts murder trial of former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez when the region’s beloved Patriots play in Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday.
On a day in which the girlfriend of victim Odin Lloyd took the stand and Lloyd’s mother again left the courtroom in tears, Bristol County Superior Court Judge Susan Garsh on Friday had a warning for the jury.
“I am not going to forbid you from watching the Super Bowl if that’s something that’s really important to you,” she said.
But the judge closed the second day of testimony by advising jurors to be vigilant for mention of Hernandez, who helped lead the Patriots to Super Bowl XLVI nearly three years ago.
“You hear that word, you’ve got to walk out of the room,” Garsh said. “Distance yourself.”
Hernandez will not be watching his former team. He’s incarcerated in a high security unit where prisoners are forbidden from watching TV.
Hernandez, 25, pleaded not guilty in the 2013 killing of Lloyd, 27, who dated the sister of Hernandez’s fiancée.
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On June 16, 2013, Lloyd was riding with friends in a black Chevrolet Suburban, which police later learned was rented by Hernandez.
Close friend Daryl Hodge was with Lloyd when he said Lloyd got a text from Hernandez, asking to hang out later that night.
As they parted ways, Lloyd told Hodge he’d see him later.
Lloyd’s body was found the next day.
The judge has blocked any mention that Hernandez was indicted in connection with two other killings in Boston. Hernandez pleaded not guilty in the shooting deaths of Ernesto Abreu and Safiro Furtado outside a bar in Boston in 2012. A trial date hasn’t been set.
CNN’s Susan Candiotti and Laura Dolan contributed to this report.
