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Newly minted Patriot Tim Tebow sparked a craze of copycat genuflectors as his career took off, but now a darker meme has been sparked by a newly-ex Pats player: Hernandezing, in which posters imitate Aaron Hernandez’s iconic arrest photo.
On Twitter, hundreds shared images of themselves in (generally white) t-shirts with their arms caught beneath the shirt.
Just #Hernandezing pic.twitter.com/FJShbgsHCD
— Marshall Toy (@MrToyENG) June 26, 2013
@ESPN JOIN THE NEW TREND #hernandezing pic.twitter.com/J2pQ1jSKFj
— Paco (@BasedPaco) June 26, 2013
#hernandezing It's like tebowing but better #trendsetters http://t.co/nYVgSiZz2T
— Josh Hurt (@Josh_Hurt3) June 26, 2013
I really hope #HERNANDEZING takes off!warning awful meme to follow pic.twitter.com/jIx2gTE5aV
— Chris Setters (@chrissetters) June 26, 2013
Just as quickly as the meme arose, however, came the backlash against making light of an active murder prosecution.
“This image of Hernandez—coupled with the pervasive bro culture made possible by high-speed Internet connections and, one can only assume, #YOLO—has officially made ’Hernandezing’ a thing that is happening,” wrote Mike Bertha on Philly.com. “Never did I think we’d miss Tebowing so badly. In this trying time, please remember that friends don’t let friends ‘Hernandez.’”
I couldn’t agree more.