Former NFL running back O.J. Simpson died on Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 76.
“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” a statement from the family said. “During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”
O.J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills runs during a game against the New York Jets in New York, New York. (Focus On Sport/Getty Images)
Simpson made headlines in February when it was announced that the former NFL player and accused murderer had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Reports also indicated that Simpson had entered hospice care while he received chemotherapy treatment. However, Simpson himself refuted that report on X.
“Hospice? Hospice? You talking ‘bout hospice?” Simpson said in a video posted to X.
Simpson achieved fame as a college football star at the University of Southern California (USC) and followed that up with a stellar 11-year career in the NFL before launching a successful broadcasting and movie career.
However, in 1994, Simpson’s fame gave way to infamy as video of him fleeing Los Angeles police officers in a white Bronco after he was charged with the murder of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman.
Simpson went to trial to contest the charges in 1995 and was acquitted of criminal murder. The verdict came as a shock to many who believed Simpson was the murderer and that the verdict was fraudulent.
Two years later, Simpson was found civilly liable for the murders.
During his time at USC, Simpson was seen as a breaker of racial barriers during the turbulent 1960s.
Portrait of USC All-American running back O.J. Simpson. He would go on to win the Heisman Trophy in 1968, play many years for the Buffalo Bills in the NFL, act in films, and work as a sportscaster. He gained further notoriety for standing trial for the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman. January 1, 1967.
(Original Caption) 12/5/1968-New York, NY- O.J. Simpson, of Southern California, the most celebrated collegiate football player of 1968, looms over the Heisman Memorial Trophy on Dec. 5th, after he received the award. During the day, Simpson was also selected as United Press International Player of the Year.UPDATED: BuffaloBills’ running back O.J. Simpson #32 poses for a portrait circa early1970s. (Photo by Focus on Sport via Getty Images)
Simpson was one of the biggest stars in the NFL during his time in Buffalo. In 1973, he became the only player to rush for 2,000 in a 14-game season. He also had an 1800-yard season in 1975 and a 1500-yard season in 1976.
The Buffalo Bills’ OJ Simpson (number 32) in action against the New York Jets in the snow at Shea Stadium, New York, on December 16th, 1973. (Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
BURBANK, CA – JUNE 12: OJ Simpson poses with his Ferrari June 12, 1979, at Warner Bros Studios, Burbank, California (Photo Paul Harris/Getty Images)
Anyone who watched television in the 1980s remembers the Hertz car commercials featuring a running, spinning, and jumping O.J. Simpson as he hurried to make his flight.
The former Heisman Trophy winner also gained notoriety for his marriage to a former homecoming queen, Nicole Brown.
Nicole Brown and O.J. Simpson during O.J. Simpson File Photos at Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by Betty Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
O.J. Simpson, aka Orenthal James Simpson, serves as an NBC Sports sideline reporter for the r AFC Wild Card playoff game between the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Jan. 9, 1994. (Photo by Kirby Lee/WireImage)
LOS ANGELES – MARCH 16: O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson pose at the premiere of the “Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult” in which O.J. starred on March 16, 1994, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Vinnie Zuffante/Getty Images)This handout shows American football running back, broadcaster, actor, and advertising spokesman OJ Simpson in a mug shot following his arrest in Los Angeles, California, US, 17th June 1994. (Photo by Kypros/Getty Images)
After the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Goldman, O.J. Simpson assembled one of the finest legal defense teams in history. A significant amount of the evidence in the case centered on the fit of the gloves the prosecution alleged Simpson wore.
LOS ANGELES, CA – JUNE 21: O.J. Simpson shows the jury a new pair of Aris extra-large gloves, similar to the gloves found at the Bundy and Rockingham crime scene 21 June 1995, during his double murder trial in Los Angeles, CA. Deputy Sheriff Roland Jex(L) and Prosecutor Christopher Darden (R) look on. (Photo credit should read VINCE BUCCI/AFP via Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 22: Lead defense attorney Johnnie Cochran (R) puts his arm on O.J. Simpson’s shoulder after Simpson told Judge Lance Ito on 22 September that he has faith that jurors will acquit him of the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. At left is defense attorney Robert Blasier. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read POO/AFP via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS – DECEMBER 5: O.J. Simpson speaks in court before his sentencing at the Clark County Regional Justice Center December 5, 2008, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Simpson and co-defendant Clarence “C.J.” Stewart were sentenced on 12 charges, including felony kidnapping, armed robbery and conspiracy related to a 2007 confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel. (Photo by Issac Brekken-Pool/Getty Images)
“We don’t need to go back and relive the worst day of our lives,” Simpson said of the killings in 2019. “The subject of the moment is the subject I will never revisit again. My family and I have moved on to what we call the ‘no negative zone.’ We focus on the positives.”
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