O.J. Simpson, Football Hero Turned Fallen Black Man, Dies at 76

Image for article titled O.J. Simpson, Football Hero Turned Fallen Black Man, Dies at 76

Photo: Steve Marcus-Pool (Getty Images)

O.J. Simpson, whose reputation as a decorated NFL player was forever derailed by a sensational murder trial, has died of cancer. He was 76.

His official X/Twitter account posted the news, and his lawyer confirmed with TMZ that he died Wednesday evening.

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To one generation, Simpson was a football star: Having played all but two years of his career for the Buffalo Bills, he was the first player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards and has a series of NFL awards to his name. Following his 1979 retirement, he transitioned into a successful movie career, with a starring role in the “The Naked Gun” comedy film series.

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To a younger generation, he’s known primarily for being at the center of perhaps the most infamous murder trial of all time for the 1994 stabbing deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her boyfriend Ron Goldman, which captivated the world during the summer of 1995: Simpson’s slow-speed police chase from Los Angeles police had an audience of 95 million and interrupted the NBA Finals.

Simpson was acquitted of the murders but spent the remainder of his life dogged by the public’s belief that he was responsible. The families of Goldman and Brown Simpson filed a civil suit against Simpson, in which he was found liable for their deaths and was ordered to pay more than $33 million in damages.

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He didn’t do much to help the perception that he had a hand in the deaths of Brown Simpson and Goldman, at one time putting his name on a book titled “If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer” along with a televised interview special, the latter which was canceled after universal public outrage.

Simpson was also arrested for robbery and kidnapping for his role in a 2007 sports memorabilia robbery in Las Vegas. He spent nine years in prison and was released in October 2017.

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His life and story, which has focused largely on his legal battles, has been translated into numerous books, films and miniseries.