O.J. Simpson: Death Of Tainted NFL Star And What US Media Likes To Call 'The Trial Of The Century'

The American football star whose 1995 acquittal in the “trial of the century” for the murder of his ex-wife and a friend gripped the United States, has died at the age of 76. O.J. Simpson was an American national figure, whose fame turned to infamy after the double murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman in a suburb of Los Angeles.

During the Simpson saga, the televised police chase, and an extraordinary trial featuring allegations of racism, were watched by millions. His acquittal in October 1995 after nine months in court was greeted with disbelief by many Americans who had followed every twist and turn in the case.

‘Trial Of The Century’

His trial captured America’s attention on live TV. The case sparked debates on race, gender, domestic abuse, celebrity justice and police misconduct. Evidence found at the scene seemed overwhelmingly against Simpson. Blood drops, bloody footprints and a glove were there. Another glove, smeared with blood, was found at his home.

Simpson didn’t testify, but the prosecution asked him to try on the gloves in court. He struggled to squeeze them onto his hands and spoke his only three words of the trial: “They’re too small.” His attorney told the jurors, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.” The jury found him not guilty of murder in 1995, but a separate civil trial jury found him liable in 1997 for the deaths and ordered him to pay $33.5 million to relatives of Brown and Goldman.

‘Most Valuable’

Simpson grew up in poverty and ill health but developed into an elite athlete, rising rapidly to stardom first as a college football player and then in the National Football League, where he won the 1973 Most Valuable Player award. His popularity only grew with a post-NFL career as an actor and an ad pitchman, where his appearances promoting everything from orange juice to car rentals made him one of the most recognisable Black faces in the country.

Simpson signed endorsement deals left, right, and center, earning him millions of dollars. In 1989, he told the Los Angeles Times that he made more money from advertising gigs than from football for most of his NFL career. “I used to call the football season my off-season,” he said. However, things went south on June 12, 1994, when Brown Simpson, 35, and waiter Goldman, 25, were found stabbed to death outside her home. Although he walked free, there was no happy next chapter for “O.J.” — or “The Juice.” Simpson was subsequently found liable for the deaths in a 1997 civil suit and was ordered to pay damages totaling $33.5 million to the families of the victims.

The Kardashian Rumour

Simpson once bragged about a sexual encounter with “Kardashians” fame Kris Jenner, who was then married to one of his closest friends. OJ’s former manager Norman Pardo claimed that the NFL star had sex with Jenner in a hot tub sometime in the early 1990s, according to US media reports. Jenner, now 68, has shot down rumours that she had an affair with the American football player over the years.

“This is an absolute lie and not true. I have never had an affair with O.J. Simpson,” said the famous mother of the Kardashian sisters. Misinformed fans and potential trolls on social media inundated Khloe Kardashian’s comments on her latest Twitter and Instagram posts with “condolences” following Simpson’s death. This stems from the baseless conspiracy theory alleging that he is her biological father.

‘Simpson’s malevolence’

Writing for the New York Post, columnist Adam B. Coleman said, “There are few men who’ve reached the summit of fame, economic prosperity and respect only to lose their footing and fall as far as OJ Simpson.” He argued that it wasn’t just the twin murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman that exposed “Simpson’s malevolence” but misuse of his race during the trial.

“Simpson and his defense team exploited America’s racial wound, peeled off the fresh scab of the Rodney King debacle and invited press vampires to endlessly feed off our bleeding gash,” Adam wrote. “The trial of the century wasn’t about discovering the truth surrounding the death of innocent people or even proving Simpson’s innocence: It was about reigniting a racial flame that we refuse to let completely burn out,” he added.

Adam contended that the Simpson trial was the prototype for a “more ideological and blood-thirsty media apparatus, showcasing “willingness to stoke any story that smells of racial division.” “Simpson behaved as if he was an unaccountable god amongst men when he was alive, but gods don’t get judged when they die: He will,” he added.

(With agency inputs)