OJ Simpson, the former American football star whose acquittal in 1995 in the so-called “trial of the century” for the brutal murders of his ex-wife and her friend shocked the world, died at the age of 76, his family announced Thursday.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” his family wrote on the social network X.
“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you respect his wishes for privacy and grace,” the message reads.
Simpson, who was a popular public figure in the United States, became a villain because he was suspected of the gruesome murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in a Los Angeles suburb in 1994.
Millions of people watched on television the police chase to arrest Simpson and the extraordinary trial that followed, with high-profile lawyers and accusations of racism.
His acquittal in October 1995 after a nine-month trial sparked disbelief among many Americans who had watched every round of arguments over such intricate details as whether a pair of gloves actually fit the former athlete’s hands.
– top athletes –
Simpson was born on July 9, 1947 in San Francisco, California. When he was five years old, his father abandoned the family and left him in the care of his mother in a very poor home. His legs were deformed by rickets due to vitamin and calcium deficiency.
Without money for surgery, his mother made him wear simple orthotics and put shoes on opposite feet to strengthen his legs.
The method worked so well that he was able to run 100 yards (91.4 m) in 9.9 seconds. He managed to get promoted to the American Football League (NFL), where he won the Heisman Trophy in 1968 and the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award in 1973. In 1985 he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.
Simpson was considered a sports icon in the United States, and his fame grew even more when he entered the world of cinema and advertising, where his appearances promoting everything from orange juice to car rentals made him one of the most recognizable faces in the world country made.
His work with Hertz, in which he walked through airports in a three-piece suit, became part of the country’s popular culture.
All this success came to an abrupt end on June 12, 1994, when Brown Simpson (35) and Goldman (25) were found stabbed to death outside their home.
The jury in the so-called “Trial of the Century” declared him innocent, although he was later found guilty in civil court and forced to pay $33.5 million in damages, a score that was never settled.
In a phone call with NBC News, Ron Goldman’s father said Simpson’s death was “not a great loss to the world.”
“All I have to say is it’s just another reminder that Ron hasn’t been there all these years,” Fred Goldman said.
Simpson couldn’t avoid bars when he was arrested in Las Vegas in 2007 for kidnapping and robbing two sports memorabilia collectors at gunpoint. He spent nine years in prison and was released in 2017.
– Public Fascination –
The fascination with the Simpson character has not waned among some of the public since then.
“OJ: Made in America,” a nearly eight-hour work about his murder trial, won the 2017 Oscar for best documentary.
And “The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story,” a television miniseries with former star Cuba Gooding Jr., won multiple Emmy Awards in 2016.
On February 9 this year, Simpson released a video about X in which he denied information claiming he was receiving palliative care.
From the driver’s seat of a car, he said, “Are you talking about a hospice?!” “No, I’m not in a center,” he said, laughing.
“I don’t know who put that there… I guess it’s like Donald (Trump) saying, ‘You can’t trust the media.'” “Anyway, I’m inviting some friends to the Super Bowl here in Las Vegas. Everything is going well. So guys, take care, have a good Super Bowl.”
AFP