Veterans on a dozen NFL teams reported to training camp on Wednesday. That list does not include the New England Patriots — whose veterans report on Thursday — but head coach Bill Belichick's press conference to address the Aaron Hernandez situation was arguably the top NFL story of the day. Belichick opened his 22-minute media session by reading from a prepared statement, which Daniel Kaplan of the SportsBusiness Journal reports was written by Belichick with no outside help. "I'm going to address the situation involving Aaron Hernandez today. I felt that it was important enough to do that prior to the start of camp," Belichick said. "It's a sad day, really a sad day on so many levels. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of the victim and I extend my sympathy really to everyone who has been impacted. A young man lost his life. His family has suffered a tragic loss and there's no way to understate that. When I was out of the country, I learned about the ongoing criminal investigation that involved one of our players and I and other members of the organization were shocked and disappointed in what we had learned. "After consultation with ownership, we acted swiftly and decisively. Robert [Kraft] and his family and I, since I got here in 2000, have always emphasized the need for our team and our players and our organization to represent the community the right away both on and off the field. We've worked very hard together over the past 14 years to put together a winning team that's a pillar in the community. I agree 100 percent with the comments that Robert has already made on the situation; I stand behind those as well."
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