(CNN) — The NFL Players Association has filed a grievance against the New England Patriots to collect $82,000 in offseason workout bonuses that it says is owed to former player Aaron Hernandez, whom the Patriots dismissed after he was charged with murder this summer.
“We are not tone-deaf to what the allegations are in this case, but for the benefit of all players, there are important precedents here we must protect,” the players’ union said in a statement released Tuesday.
Hernandez, 23, was arrested in June on suspicion of killing Odin Lloyd, 27, in Massachusetts.
The Patriots — who gave the tight end a five-year, $40 million contract last year — released him from the team after his arrest. A grand jury indicted him on a first-degree murder charge and five weapons charges this month.
