O.J. Simpson is a man who needs no introduction. The former NFL running back-turned-murder suspect is one of the most polarizing, infamous public figures of the past 50 years. Simpson died of cancer on Thursday as Nicole Brown, Ron Goldman and Norm Macdonald celebrated from beyond the grave. Once a beloved football player and media star, Simpson had one of the most dramatic and shocking downfalls of any public figure of the 20th century, falling further into a downward spiral of infamy and hatred from the masses.
Simpson first entered the limelight in the late 1960s as a stud running back at USC, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1968. He was then drafted first overall by the Buffalo Bills in 1969 and had a legendary career in the NFL. His five-year stretch from 1972 to 1976 was one of the most dominating periods of play from any player in NFL history, highlighted by his 1973 MVP campaign when he rushed for 2,003 yards in only 14 games, averaging a record 143.1 yards per game that still stands today. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1985 and is regarded as one of the greatest running backs of the 1970s and of all time.
After retiring from football in 1979, Simpson embraced the bright lights of Hollywood and started a successful acting career. His appearances in films like “The Naked Gun” showed his lighter side and established him as a beloved icon of American culture. He was also genuinely funny in these roles (watch him in “The Naked Gun” if you don’t believe me). He established the archetype of a lovable, former NFL player that many stars embrace today – looking at you, Michael Strahan. He really did have it all.
But the Roman Empire that was his career came crashing down in a way that I bet nobody had on their 1994 bingo card. Simpson’s former wife and her friend were found stabbed to death outside their condo in Los Angeles and “The Juice” was the prime suspect. After a televised low-speed police chase where he could have easily been stopped, Simpson became the subject of “the trial of the century” that captivated and divided the nation. The trial was an absolute media circus rivaled only by Beatlemania that received round-the-clock coverage reserved only for the Super Bowl.
After a 10-month-long trial filled with numerous moments that would have blown up on social media if it was around at the time, most notably the infamous gloves that didn’t fit, Simpson was found not guilty of the murders of Brown and Goldman, making him a free man and making “murder legal in the state of California,” in the words of Norm Macdonald. Now, I’m not going to sit here and argue whether he actually did it or not, but would a man who was truly innocent have the audacity to write a book called “If I Did It: Confessions of a Killer” that describes in great detail how he hypothetically would have done the murders? That would be like if Bill Clinton wrote a book called “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, but if I did, here’s how.”
Now, you would expect someone who was just involved in the trial of the century to live out the rest of their lives in peace, right? Well in the case of Simpson, you would be dead wrong. In September 2007, Simpson and some henchman decided to play some real life “Grand Theft Auto” by robbing a hotel room at the Palace Station casino in Las Vegas to steal some sports memorabilia that he claimed was stolen from him. He was quickly arrested for armed robbery and kidnapping, among other things, and was found guilty on 12 charges for the crime and was sentenced to 33 years in prison. How Simpson thought this was a good idea is beyond me, but there’s a lesson in this: if you get lucky during one trial, don’t think that you’re above the law.
Simpson was granted parole after nine years and was released in 2017, spending the rest of his days posting on X in an effort to recultivate his public image. But the damage was done at that point. Despite his impressive and successful careers in football and acting, Simpson will always be remembered for his murder trial and other legal issues, evidenced by a recent poll taken after his death that showed that 66% of Americans will remember him mainly for his 1995 trial. Now that “The Juice” is no longer loose, he can spend the rest of eternity being mocked by Norm Macdonald in the afterlife, which I would pay good money to see.