EEW Magazine News // Notable Deaths

The world has bid farewell to one of the most iconic and controversial figures in American sports and pop culture. O.J. Simpson, the former football great who was accused of and ultimately acquitted of the brutal 1994 slayings of his ex-wife and her friend, passed away after a battle with cancer. He was 76.

"On April 10th, 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 please respect their wishes for privacy and grace," a statement from his family said.

Simpson, often referred to as "The Juice," was a standout athlete from his early days, setting records as a running back at the University of Southern California before embarking on a storied career in the NFL. As a player for the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers, Simpson's prowess on the football field was undeniable. He became the first player to break the prestigious 2,000-yard rushing mark in a single season and earned a place in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Off the field, he enjoyed a successful career in broadcasting and acting, becoming a familiar face in film and television. His charm and charisma made him a beloved figure in the entertainment industry and among fans across the country.

All that changed on June 12, 1994, when Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, were brutally stabbed to death outside of her home in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brentwood. Within days, police announced their intention to arrest the former football star for the murders.

Five days after the killings, 95 million Americans watched as Simpson's white Ford Bronco – with longtime friend Al Cowlings at the wheel and Simpson in the back seat with a handgun, threatening to kill himself – led police on a 60-mile, low-speed televised chase through Los Angeles that lasted some two hours.

The trial, dubbed "The Trial of the Century," was one of the most publicized events in American legal history and divided public opinion. Simpson's eventual acquittal on criminal charges did little to quell the ongoing debate about his guilt or innocence.

In the years following the trial, Simpson faced further legal challenges. The night of Sept. 13, 2007, Simpson led a group of men – one of whom was armed with a handgun – into a Las Vegas hotel room to recover what Simpson claimed was sports memorabilia that had been stolen from him. He was arrested three days later and charged with 12 felony counts, including kidnapping and armed robbery. After a trial that lasted less than a month, Simpson was found guilty of all charges on Oct. 3, 2008 – 13 years to the day after he was acquitted in his Los Angeles double murder trial. He served nine years in prison before being released on parole in 2017.

Many believed he was being punished for crimes he had been acquitted of, including the Goldmans.

"I'm not a guy who lived a criminal life," he said. "I was always a good guy, but could have been a better Christian, and my commitment to change is to be a better Christian."

"I had some problems with fidelity in my life, but I've always been a guy that pretty much got along with everybody," Simpson added.

Simpson's death closes the final chapter on a life that was both celebrated and scorned. His story is a reflection of the complexities of fame, the American justice system, and the court of public opinion.

Public fascination with Simpson never faded. In 2016, he was the subject of an FX miniseries and a five-part ESPN documentary.

“I don’t think most of America believes I did it,” Simpson told The New York Times in 1995, a week after a jury determined he did not kill Brown and Goldman. “I’ve gotten thousands of letters and telegrams from people supporting me.”

Orenthal James Simpson was born July 9, 1947, in San Francisco, where he grew up in government-subsidized housing.

After graduating from high school, he enrolled at City College of San Francisco for a year and a half before transferring to the University of Southern California for the spring 1967 semester.

He married his first wife, Marguerite Whitley, on June 24, 1967, moving her to Los Angeles the next day so he could begin preparing for his first season with USC — which, in large part because of Simpson, won that year’s national championship.

Simpson won the Heisman Trophy in 1968. He accepted the statue the same day that his first child, Arnelle, was born.

He had two sons, Jason and Aaren, with his first wife; one of those boys, Aaren, drowned as a toddler in a swimming pool accident in 1979, the same year he and Whitley divorced.

Simpson and Brown were married in 1985. They had two children, Justin and Sydney, and divorced in 1992. Two years later, Nicole Brown Simpson was found murdered.

“We don’t need to go back and relive the worst day of our lives,” he told the AP 25 years after the double slayings. “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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