Hernandez Removed from Panini Sticker Collections

Former New England Patriot and current murder suspect Aaron Hernandez has been removed from another group of merchandise as the team distances itself from its former tight end.

ESPN.com reports that Panini had 500,000 sticker books with Hernandez depicted already produced but not yet distributed and the memorabilia company painstakingly removed the offending player from each. Unfortunately for the trading card company, Hernandez had been one of the 10 players chosen to be stuck directly into the books to help buyers start their sticker collection.

The company produced one million new Tim Tebow stickers to replace Hernandez and are making them available for free at events, online and to customers who received Hernandez stickers in packs.

“We felt strongly that making these changes was the right thing to do, for Panini and our products but, more importantly, for our fans and collectors,” said Jason Howarth, Panini’s vice president of marketing.

Hernandez, who is currently awaiting trial at a correctional facility in Dartmouth, Massachusetts, was charged three weeks ago with murdering 27-year-old semi-pro football player Odin Lloyd and has been dropped with several entities, including Electronic Arts, the Patriots and Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Hernandez was also recently dropped by Puma.