OJ Simpson, a former football star who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in what became known as the “Trial of the Century”, but was later found responsible for their deaths in as part of a civil proceeding, died after a battle with cancer, his family said.
He was 76 years old.
Simpson’s journey – from football stardom to stardom as an actor and broadcaster, and finally to criminal notoriety – made him, in the words of one of his lawyers, one of the most successful people most famous on the planet.
His family announced his dead on his X account, tweeting “On April 10, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you respect his wishes for privacy and of grace.”
Born Orenthal James Simpson, he grew up in public housing in the Portrero Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, before becoming a running back for the University of Southern California. In 1968, his senior year, he won the Heisman Trophy.
After college, Simpson was drafted into the NFL as the number one overall pick by the Buffalo Bills. He became the first running back to gain 2,000 yards in a season in 1973 and became a member of the Hall of Fame. He spent 11 years in the league, primarily with the Bills, and was considered one of the greatest running backs of all time. He retired from the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers in 1979.
He then moved from sports to entertainment and broadcasting, starring in films like “The Naked Gun” trilogy. He was also a Hertz rental car pitcher and a soccer commentator.
Then, in 1994, Simpson was charged with the double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman at Simpson’s home in Brentwood, California. In what became known as the “Trial of the Century”, Simpson was acquitted of both murders. The trial itself was a spectacle, the center of breathtaking television coverage, with Simpson represented by a legal “Dream Team” that included the late Johnnie Cochran Jr. and F. Lee Bailey.
Three years later, however, Simpson was found responsible for the death by a California civil court jury and ordered to pay $33.5 million to the victims’ families.
In another case, more than a decade later, Simpson was convicted by a Las Vegas jury and sentenced to prison for leading five men, two of them armed, in a 2007 confrontation with two drug dealers. sports collectibles in a cramped room at a coffee shop. Las Vegas hotel-casino strip.
Simpson insisted he only wanted to recover the personal memorabilia and items stolen from him after his acquittal for the double murders.
After serving nine years in a Nevada prison for armed robbery, Simpson earned good behavior credits and was released from parole on December 1, 2021. The 74-year-old continued to reside in the community closed from Las Vegas where he had moved after being paroled. Simpson became a frequent poster on Twitter, now X, offering sports shots and photos from the golf course, where he spent much of his free time after his incarceration.
In early 2024, it was reported that Simpson had been diagnosed and being treated for prostate cancer.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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