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The family of OJ Simpson, one of the most controversial and polarizing sports figures ever, reported that the former running back passed away today (April 11) after a battle with cancer. Click inside to see how people all over the world are reacting to the shocking news.
Orenthal James Simpson was born and raised in San Francisco, California. He attended Galileo High School, where he was an All-City football player. Simpson’s poor grades in high school left him without much interest from top recruiters around the country. This led him to enroll at the City College of San Francisco in 1965. After one year there, Simpson chose to spend his final two years at the University of Southern California. As a senior, he won the Heisman trophy. OJ would go on to be selected number one overall by the Buffalo Bills in 1969. During nine seasons with the Bills, he received five consecutive Pro Bowl and first-team All-Pro selections from 1972 to 1976. Simpson also led the league in rushing yards four times, in rushing touchdowns twice, and in points scored in 1975. After becoming the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards (he is STILL the only player to accomplish the feat in just 14 games) in a season in 1973, he was named the league’s Most Valuable Player. Simpson holds the record for the single-season yards-per-game average at 143.1. In 1979, he retired with the San Francisco 49ers and pursued acting and broadcasting. Simpson was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1985.
As good as OJ Simpson was on the football field, most of his accolades and accomplishments might forever be overshadowed by what many call one of the “trials of the century.” In June 1994, Simpson was arrested and charged with the murders of his former wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman. After a lengthy and internationally publicized trial, he was acquitted. Three years later he was found liable for the deaths in a civil suit from the victims’ families. This wasn’t his only run in with the law. In 2007, Simpson was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, and charged with armed robbery and kidnapping. He was convicted and sentenced to 33 years’ imprisonment, with a minimum of nine years without parole. After serving his sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Center, OJ was granted parole in July 2017, released from prison in October,
and granted early release from his parole in December 2021 by the Nevada Division of Parole and Probation.
Similar to most current events these days, the passing of OJ has the internet on fire. Unsurprisingly, some people have used the announcement of the news as a time to get their jokes off. Others have used it as a time to try and remind people how much of a monster they thought it was. Some people have simply posted OJ’s football highlights. Regardless of how you feel about OJ, his life and his decisions, the legendary football star will always be one of the most controversial figures in modern times and a guaranteed conversation starter.
People have always wondered what Twitter would have looked like during certain moments and events in history, but especially back in 1995 during OJ’s highly publicized trial. Today, we definitely got a bit of a glimpse. Check out some of the reactions to the passing of OJ Simpson below!
