“It went to the lab outside the city, instead of the one in Boston, where most of the examinations are performed these days, because it was less likely to attract attention that way. Instead of being carried in through the service entrance, it was ushered in secretly through the underground tunnel system. The brain was given a pseudonym, and only three people knew how to identify it. Other than that, the brain came alone and disconnected from its past, unattached to its celebrity. The sordid details of the man’s rise and fall, the speculation over what went wrong, the debate over justice — all that was left behind for others to assess.” NYT’s John Branch writes about Aaron Hernandez and the NFL, without naming either: On the Table, the Brain Appeared Normal.

+ WaPo: Aaron Hernandez suffered from most severe CTE ever found in a person his age.