O.J. Simpson’s death: Reactions to the controversial NFL football star’s legacy
The criminal trial's most famous moment
Leading the charge was Robert Shapiro, a flamboyant lawyer known for handling high-profile cases. Johnnie Cochran Jr., another star attorney, would eventually take the reins, delivering the now-legendary closing argument highlighting the infamous “glove doesn’t fit” narrative.
The O.J. Simpson murder trial, a captivating spectacle that transfixed the nation in 1995, was defined not only by the shocking nature of the crime but also by the formidable defense team assembled for Simpson. This group, dubbed the “Dream Team,” was a collection of legal heavyweights known for their courtroom prowess and celebrity clientele.
But beyond their reputations, shrouds of secrecy surround just how much they were paid for their representation.
Who were Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman?
Born in Frankfurt, to a German mother and an American father, Brown Simpson was 35 at the time of her murder. She had divorced Simpson in 1992, after seven years of marriage, having first met the former NFL star while working as a waitress at the Daisy, a nightclub in Beverly Hills.
During her marriage to Simpson, she suffered domestic violence; in 1989, indeed, he pleaded no contest to a charge of spousal abuse.
Goldman, who was 25 when he died, had been working as a waiter at LA’s Mezzaluna restaurant, where Brown Simpson dined on the day of the murders. After departing Mezzaluna, she realised she had left her sunglasses behind. According to the accepted sequence of events on 12 June 1994, Goldman had left the restaurant to return them to her when the killings took place.
In October 1995, following a criminal court case that lasted 11 months and divided the nation - largely along racial lines - Simpson was found not guilty of the brutal slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Brown Simpson and Goldman had been stabbed to death in front of her LA home in June 1994, with Simpson’s former spouse suffering knife wounds so severe that she was almost decapitated.
The 1997 civil lawsuit
While O.J. Simpson’s acquittal in the 1995 criminal trial for the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman dominated headlines, the legal story didn’t end there. The families of the victims pursued a civil lawsuit against Simpson, seeking financial compensation for their loss.
This civil case, decided in 1997, resulted in a significant judgment against Simpson.
During his football career, Simpson became known as “Juice”. This, it appears, is chiefly because the letters O.J. are commonly used to refer to the drink orange juice.
And as the Sporting News’ Dan Treacy explains, Simpson was part of a Bills offensive line whose nickname, “the Electric Company”, dovetailed with his own. “Juice” can be used as a slang term for electrical power.
“Whether the nickname for the Bills offensive line sprung from O.J. Simpson’s nickname isn’t entirely clear,” Treacy writes, “but together the two nicknames - and Simpson’s remarkable success on the field - helped each other become more prominent.”
Simpson's best football year
Tt was not until Lou Saban took over as the head coach of the Bills in 1972 that football fans saw Simpson begin to truly live up to the hype. From that year to 1976, he led the NFL in rushing four times in five seasons. The 7,699 rushing yards that he registered during that period was No. 1 in the league and by a whole lot as well, with no other player managing to come within 2,500 yards of his mark.
Simpson notched what is widely considered the greatest season of his career in 1973, becoming not just the league MVP, but the first running back in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards, with an incredible 419 yards in the last two games of the year.
“If you’re going to be a superstar, in sports or anything else, it’s your mind - not your body - that’ll get you there...it’s concentration, the ability to blot out everything that doesn’t help you do your best.”
Those were the words once spoken by Orenthal James Simpson, the man better known as O.J. Simpson, and we take the body of work that he accomplished as a running back in the NFL into consideration, it appears he did just that.
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While the Kardashian family may be ruled today by Kris Jenner, with branches that include Kanye West, Caitlyn Jenner, Travis Barker, Tristan Thompson, Blac Chyna, and Travis Scott, the root of this mighty tree is Robert Kardashian.
The future attorney met OJ Simpson in 1967 when they were students at USC and became close friends. Simpson was best man at Kardashian and Kris Houghton’s wedding in 1978, becoming close family friends to them and their four children.
Journalist talks of how O.J. Simpson deflected comments after acquittal
Ed Gordon, who got the chance to interview O.J. Simpson after his acquittal, described how the former football star dealt with people after he was acquitted.
Gordon said that Simpson could be charming, and he used this to deflect possible rude comments from people he would encounter.
Hosts of The View recall the O.J. Simpson trial
As news of O.J. Simpson's death broke, hosts of The View recall the events in the so-called Trial of the Century and the effect the proceedings had on them.
Snippets of O.J. Simpson on the football field
For those who were not yet around the see the exploits of O.J. Simpson on the football field, here are some clips of his time as a star running back on the NFL.
He spent most of his time with the Buffalo Bills, before moving to the San Francisco 49ers. His jersey number was 32.
Simpson has died after losing his battle with cancer, the former NFL star-turned-actor’s family announced on Thursday.
William Allen gives us a timeline of his colorful life.
O.J Simpson's family asks for privacy at this time
The death of O.J. Simpson is bound to elicit mixed reactions, what with him having been both a football legend and the main actor in the most sensational and lurid trial of the 20th century.
Hs family is asking for privacy and grace at this time.
O.J.'s last tweet/post on X
O.J. Simpson's last tweet/post on X shows him cheering on his former team, the San Francisco 49ers, before they faced the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.
He was a running back with the 49ers from 1978 to 1979.
The former NFL star’s family posted a brief message on his X profile confirming his death ‘succumbing to his battle against cancer’.
O.J. Simpson dies of cancer at 76: live updates
O.J. Simpson, a football star who became an actor and later achieved notoriety when he was charged with and eventually acquitted of the murder of his ex-wife and her boyfriend, has passed away at the age of 76.
Our live blog will give the latest updates involving this piece of news, as well as reactions to Simpson's life and legacy.