Since his death, there has been ongoing speculation that Aaron was homosexual and that he wanted to keep that part of his life hidden.

“I asked Aaron if he was gay,” Jonathan wrote, recalling telling his younger brother he loved him no matter what. “‘Don’t ever ask me that again,’ Aaron said. ‘If you say that one more time, I’ll f–king kill you.’”

Shayanna said in 2020 that although she had a child with Aaron, “I still can’t tell you how he felt inside.”

“If he felt that way or if he felt the urge (to be with men), I wish I had heard it,” she said on Good morning America of the high school sweetheart she planned to marry. “I wish he had told me, because I wouldn’t have loved him otherwise.”

While Aaron’s story is compelling at first glance, it’s the unanswerable questions about his true nature that have led to a whole lot of struggle to understand him.

“When we talk about authenticity or double lives or secrets, he has no idea who he is,” Zicherman told E!. “He was drafted to a championship team where he’s expected to be a man.”