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O.J. Simpson, the former NFL player who was infamously acquitted for the gruesome murders of his ex-wife and her friend, has died, his family said on Thursday. He was 76.
"On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer," his family said in a statement posted on X. "He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren."
According to NBC News:
Reports circulated in February that Simpson had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and was in hospice care as he underwent chemotherapy. Simpson denied that he was in hospice in a video posted to X, but did not address whether he or not he’d been diagnosed with cancer.
Simpson was a star running back for the Buffalo Bills in the 1970s, and he pursued a broadcasting career after his retirement from professional football. But he became an internationally notorious figure after the brutal killings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman in 1994, and his arrest and subsequent trial on murder charges, sparked a media circus.
Around 95 million people tuned in to watch Simpson lead the police on a 90-minute car chase in a white Ford Bronco before he finally surrendered to police. His monthslong criminal trial, which culminated in his shocking acquittal, received wall-to-wall coverage in the media and paved the way for the 24-hour cable news cycle.
The verdict also highlighted a racial divide over views of the criminal justice system. Many Black Americans regarded Simpson as a victim of the broken policing system and celebrated his acquittal, which left many white Americans outraged.
Simpson was found liable for Brown and Goldman’s deaths in 1997 after their families filed a civil suit against him. He was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages but ultimately paid off little of it.
He did eventually serve time, though: In 2008, he was convicted on charges of armed robbery and kidnapping, and he served nine years in prison before being granted parole in 2017.