O.J. Simpson, an Ex-NFL Star Who Was Cleared of Double Murder in 1995, Dies at 76

By
Kimi Tan
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Remember the big hoo-ha surrounding O.J. Simpson in 1994? It’s already been 20 years since that.

And, the ex-NFL star has just been reported dead at age 76.

O.J. Simpson Has Died 

On 11 April 2024, the following post was uploaded on O.J. Simpson’s X (formerly Twitter) account:

“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” the post reads.

“During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”

The post is signed off by “The Simpson Family”.

O.J. Simpson’s prostate cancer diagnosis was made public about two months ago in a statement by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The statement said Simpson had been receiving chemotherapy treatment.

Online Reactions To His Death

Netizens seem to be split on how to feel about the news.

Condolences

Some have offered their condolences to the Simpsons in this time of grief.

On The Other Hand

On the other hand, other netizens seem to have… other thoughts on his death.

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O.J. Simpson’s NFL Legacy

O.J. Simpson was selected by the Buffalo Bills in the 1969 AFL/NFL Draft, but he was not immediately successful.

It was only in his fourth season, after a coaching change, that he surpassed 1,000 yards (914 metres), leading the league with 1,251 (1144m) in 1972 and setting the stage for his most famous season.

In 1973, Simson ran for 2,003 yards (1832m), getting the final 200 on 34 carries on a season-ending day against the New York Jets.

He broke Jim Brown’s single-season rushing record of 1,863 yards (1704m) that had stood for a decade.

Rushing, on offense, refers to running with the ball when starting from behind the line of scrimmage with an intent of gaining yardage.

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Simpson was named the league MVP by all of the top media outlets and also won the Bert Bell Award.

Simpson was selected to play in six Pro Bowls and was a first-team All-Pro selection five times.

In 1985, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Simpson was a highly decorated athlete, but the glitz and glamour came to an abrupt end when he was charged with the murders of his ex-wife and her friend.

O.J. Simpson’s Trial

The entire of America – and the whole world at that – watched O.J. Simpson’s criminal proceedings 20 years ago with peeled eyes.

Dubbed “Trial of the Century“, O.J. Simpson’s case held the entire nation in a grip, especially since the judge had allowed the trial to be televised.

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On 12 June 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman, were found stabbed to death outside her condo in Los Angeles.

Simpson, who had pleaded to no contest to a domestic violence charge against Brown in 1989, was an immediate person of interest in their murders.

After evidence was gathered, a warrant was signed for Simpson’s arrest.

Although Simpson agreed with his attorneys to turn himself in at 11am on 17 June, he failed to turn himself in and subsequently found himself involved in a pursuit by police.

TV stations interrupted coverage of the 1994 NBA Finals to broadcast the incident live.

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He was eventually captured after leading the police along almost 100km of highways and city streets.

Belief in Simpson’s innocence or guilt was divided largely along racial lines, with a majority of African Americans in support of Simpson and most white Americans believing in his guilt.

The famous trial culminated in 1995 after 11 months when the jury rendered a verdict of “not guilty” for the two murders.

While white Americans were largely upset over the jury’s decision, the majority of African Americans supported it, viewing his acquittal as a victory in a legal system that systematically discriminated against Blacks.

Following his acquittal of criminal charges, the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson filed a civil lawsuit against Simpson.

The civil jury found Simpson liable for the wrongful death of and battery against Goldman, and battery against Brown (the Brown family had not filed a wrongful death claim).

Nevertheless, Simpson found himself tangled up in various other legal troubles over the next few years including simple battery, burglary, and water speeding.

He served nine years in a prison after he was convicted on 12 accounts of armed robbery and kidnapping.

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If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer

In 2007, O.J. Simpson released a controversial bestseller titled “If I Did It”.

Originally sold as a book by Simpson, it offered a supposedly “hypothetical” account of how the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman would have occurred if the ex-NFL star committed them.

After Simpson was found liable for the wrongful death of Goldman, a Florida bankruptcy court awarded the rights to the book to the Goldman family, to partially satisfy the civil judgement.

After the Goldman family was awarded the rights to the book, they edited the cover, making the “If” so tiny that the title just looked like “I Did It”.

They also added Confessions of the Killer to the title.

Images: HarperCollins (left), Beaufort Books (right)

Because of the edits the Goldman family did to the title, the book now looks like a confession by O.J. Simpson.

The book reached No. 2 on The New York Times bestseller list after its publication, which can be partially attributed to the public’s curiosity about Simpson and the murders.

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Kimi Tan