O.J. Simpson Dead After Battle With Cancer

Former NFL running back whose murder trial captivated the entire nation after leading authorities on an hours-long chase lost his life on Wednesday after a battle with cancer. Orenthal James Simpson, popularly known as O.J. Simpson, was 76 at the time of his death.

The news of Simpson’s death was announced in an X post on his official account, which read, “On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.”

“During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace,” the post signed “The Simpson Family” read.

On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer.

He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.

-The Simpson Family

— O.J. Simpson (@TheRealOJ32) April 11, 2024

Simpson’s death comes after it was revealed in February that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. He, however, denied rumors that he had been admitted into hospice care.

He is survived by four children from two marriages.

Simpson achieved national fame as a college football star who later went on to play with the NFL for 11 seasons. He is considered to be one of the greatest running backs of all time. However, what would have been a spotless legacy was tainted with the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman back in 1994.

Simson was accused of the murder of the two who were found stabbed to death outside Brown’s Brentwood condo. The trial captivated the world after video of him fleeing Los Angeles police officers in a white Bronco in order to evade arrest garnered widespread attention.

Simpson would later be acquitted of criminal murder in court, a verdict that was met with varying reactions. While some were pleased with his acquittal and consider the former NFL star a breaker of racial barriers, many believe the verdict was a massive failure of the American justice system.

The trial would forever be remembered for the line, “if it [the glove] doesn’t fit, you must acquit,” a line Simpson’s defense attorney delivered after Simpson was asked to slip on the bloody gloves used in the murders in front of jurors and they appeared to be too small for him.

He would later be found liable for the deaths in a civil case filed against him by the victims’ families. Per The Daily Wire, he paid over $33 million in damages to the families.

While he avoided prison for the killing of Brown and Goldman, Simpson later went to prison after he was charged with armed robbery, kidnapping and conspiracy in Las Vegas in 2007. Simpson had led a group of men into a room at the Palace Station hotel-casino at gunpoint with the intention of stealing sports memorabilia.

While Simpson had claimed that he was only trying to reclaim what had been taken from him, he was sentenced to 33 years in prison with a minimum of nine years without parole.

He was released from prison after serving his nine years minimum without parole. It was not until 2021 that he was released from parole.