Former American football star O.J. Simpson, who was accused of his wife’s murder but acquitted after a long trial, has died after battling cancer. He was 76 years old.
Simpson’s lawyer announced on the 11th (local time) that he had passed away the day before in Las Vegas. Simpson’s family also posted on their SNS X account, confirming his death from cancer.
Born into a poor family in San Francisco, Simpson rose to fame as a football star at the University of Southern California (USC) in the late 1960s. He left multiple records in 11 National Football League (NFL) seasons, including being the first running back to exceed 2,000 yards in 1973. Even after his athletic career, he amassed wealth and fame as a sportscaster, movie actor, and spokesperson for the rental car company Hertz. He was perceived as a symbol of successful African Americans during a time when racial prejudice and discrimination were prevalent.
However, in June 1994, his ex-wife Nicole Brown, who was white, as well as her boyfriend Ron Goldman, were brutally stabbed to death at their Los Angeles home. Simpson was suspected as the perpetrator. The police arrested Simpson on suspicion of murder, and his reputation plummeted. In particular, public suspicion intensified when police attempted to arrest Simpson five days after the incident, and this ‘escape drama’ was broadcast live. Simpson, threatening suicide with a gun to his head, sat in the back seat of a vehicle driven by a friend for about two hours.
Despite the controversy, he was acquitted after a lengthy trial. The trial garnered global attention due to his former status as a top star and controversies surrounding racial issues, domestic violence, and police misconduct. Notably, Simpson’s lawyer argued that the evidence had been tampered with by racially biased police in an attempt to frame him. The atmosphere shifted dramatically when the bloody glove, a key piece of evidence, did not fit Simpson’s hand during a live broadcast. The trial, which took 11 months from jury selection to verdict, resulted in Simpson’s acquittal in October 1995.
However, following the criminal trial, a separate civil trial jury later found Simpson responsible for the incident. They ordered him to pay $33.5 million to the families of Brown and Goldman, effectively declaring him guilty.
Afterward, Simpson was arrested in September 2007 for allegedly breaking into a Las Vegas hotel casino with a gun and stealing items. The following year, he was sentenced to up to 33 years in prison on charges of robbery and was released on parole in 2017. He is survived by two children from his first marriage and two children from his second marriage to Brown.
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