Former NFL running back O.J. Simpson died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 76 years old.
“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” his family said in a statement. “His family asks that you respect their wishes for privacy and grace during this transitional period.”
O.J. Simpson of the Buffalo Bills runs during a game against the New York Jets in New York, New York. (Focus on Sports/Getty Images)
In February, it was announced that a former NFL player and murder suspect had been diagnosed with prostate cancer, making headlines. Reports also indicated that Simpson was in hospice care while undergoing chemotherapy. However, Simpson himself refuted that report about X.
“Hospice? Hospice? Are you talking about hospice?” Simpson said in a video posted to X.
Simpson rose to fame as a college football star at USC and went on to have an illustrious 11-year career in the NFL before finding success in broadcasting and film.
However, in 1994, Simpson’s fame took a turn for the worse when footage was released of him fleeing a Los Angeles police officer in a white Bronco after he was accused of murdering his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. Replaced.
Simpson went to trial in 1995 to contest the charges, but was acquitted of criminal murder. The verdict was shocking to many who believed that Simpson was a murderer and that his sentence was unjust.
Two years later, Simpson was found civilly responsible for the murder.
Portrait of USC All-American running back OJ Simpson. He went on to win the Heisman Trophy in 1968, play for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills for many years, appear in movies, and also work as a sportscaster. He gained further notoriety when he went on trial for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. January 1, 1967.
(Original caption) December 5, 1968 – New York, NY – Southern California’s O.J. Simpson, the most famous college football player of 1968, towers over the Heisman Memorial Trophy on December 5 after winning the award. ing. That day, Simpson was also named the United Press International Player of the Year.
Undated: Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson #32 poses for a portrait circa the early 1970s. (Photo courtesy of Focus on Sport, Getty Images)
O.J. Simpson (number 32) of the Buffalo Bills plays against the New York Jets in the snow at Shea Stadium in New York on December 16, 1973. (Photo credit: UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
BURBANK, CA – JUNE 12: O.J. Simpson poses with a Ferrari on June 12, 1979 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California (Photo by Paul Harris/Getty Images)
Nicole Brown and O.J. Simpson during an O.J. Simpson file photo shoot in Los Angeles, California, USA. (Photo by Betty Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
O.J. Simpson, also known as Orenthal James Simpson, plays on the NBC Sports side during the AFC Wild Card Playoff game between the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 9, 1994. Serving as a line reporter (Photo courtesy of Kirby Lee/WireImage)
LOS ANGELES – MARCH 16: O.J. poses at the premiere of The Naked Gun, starring O.J., on March 16, 1994 in Los Angeles, California. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson. (Photo by Vinny Zufante/Getty Images)
This handout shows American football running back, broadcaster, actor, and publicist OJ Simpson in his mugshot after his arrest on June 17, 1994 in Los Angeles, California, USA. (Photo credit: Kypros/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 21: O.J. Simpson wears gloves similar to those found at Bundy and Rockingham’s crime scene during his serial murder trial on June 21, 1995 in Los Angeles, California. Alice’s new oversized gloves were shown to the jury. Deputy Sheriff Roland Jex (left) and Prosecutor Christopher Darden (right) look on. (Photo credit: VINCE BUCCI/AFP, Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 22: On September 22, lead defense attorney Simpson told Judge Lance Ito that he believed the jury would acquit him of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Simpson. Republican Johnnie Cochran puts his arm on Simpson’s shoulder. and her friend, Ronald Goldman. On the left is defense attorney Robert Brazier. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit POO/AFP via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS – DECEMBER 5: O. J. Simpson speaks in court prior to sentencing at the Clark County Regional Justice Center on December 5, 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Simpson and co-defendant Clarence “CJ” Stewart were sentenced on 12 charges, including felony kidnapping, armed robbery, and conspiracy in connection with a 2007 confrontation with a sports memorabilia dealer at a Las Vegas hotel. Ta. (Photo by Isaac Brecken Poole/Getty Images)
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