O.J. Simpson, Football Legend, Dies at 76 After Cancer Struggle

DEBARYLIFE – 10:48 A.M. Pacific Time In a recent video, Kato Kaelin, a crucial witness in the O.J. Simpson trial, expressed his reaction to the news and offered condolences to O.J.’s children and the families of the victims, particularly Nicole Brown Simpson.

About O.J. himself, he says nothing further.

10:17 A.M. PST Gloria Allred, who represented the family of Nicole Brown Simpson throughout the trial, tells TMZ… “Simpson’s death reminds us that the legal system even 30 years later is still failing battered women and that the power of celebrity men to avoid true justice for the harm that they inflict on their wives or significant others is still a major obstacle to the right of women to be free of the gender violence to which they are still subjected.”

“My heart goes out to the children of OJ Simpson and to the very brave family of Nicole Brown Simpson,” she continues. It is impossible to forget the truth about O.J. Simpson and it should never be ignored. Sadly, OJ Simpson has passed away. May the souls of his victims finally rest in peace.”

8:57 A.M. Pacific Time According to the Goldmans’ lawyer, David Cook, telling TMZ, “O.J. died without penance,” but even though he may be dead, his multimillion-dollar judgment remains, and the Goldmans want to find out what assets or money he could have left behind that they might retrieve.

Cook continues, “They’ll be investigating their options now that O.J. Simpson has passed away, including determining whether he left behind a fund with his estate that they can take advantage of.”

SEE MORE: Pennsylvania Man Faces Death Penalty in Triple Homicide Case, What Happened Next!

8:36 A.M. Pacific Time O.J.’s former close friend Caitlyn Jenner says TMZ… “Good riddance.” Since then, she has published on X.

8:30 a.m. PT One of the primary investigators on the O.J. murder case, Tom Lange, tells TMZ… “I have nothing to say, I simply don’t care.”

One of the most notorious and well-known Americans in history, O.J. Simpson, passed away from cancer.

According to his family, the former NFL great passed away in Las Vegas on Wednesday. He was tried and found not guilty of the double homicide of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in the 1990s.

They claim that on Wednesday night, when he passed away, his children and grandkids were with him. Simpson’s lawyer verified his passing to TMZ as well.

O.J. battled prostate cancer in the past few years, but recently his health deteriorated, and he entered hospice care.

The story of O.J.’s cancer diagnosis initially surfaced in February, albeit with unclear facts from a local site. O.J. refuted being in hospice care while ignoring the cancer report.

The fact that O.J. mentioned he had “caught” cancer in a video he uploaded on X in 2023, but implied he had overcome it, added to the intrigue. Anyway, a year or so later, the cancer returned and took his life.

SEE MORE: California Man to Face Trial for Stabbing Death Deemed a Hate Crime

Before his death, O.J. appeared weak, as evidenced by an incident in January when he was seen walking with a cane.

When O.J. last shared anything, it was a video of him discussing Super Bowl LVIII and declaring his support for the San Francisco 49ers, his old team. Back then, he seemed to be in a good mood. In the video, he was seated and speaking from a house’s backyard.

O.J.’s life was significant for many reasons, both positive and negative, particularly in his latter, post-football years. But before that, he was a cherished all-American sports hero, a Buffalo Bills icon, and a Heisman Trophy winner from USC.

Even after football, he was a true A-list star in Hollywood, appearing in numerous films and television series. He was also well-known for being the spokesperson and face of Hertz for a very long time.

Naturally, all of that goodwill vanished in the 1990s as he was linked to the horrific killings.

SEE MORE: Sad Update: 8-Year-Old Girl’s Death Confirmed by Brooklyn Police

With the gruesome killings of Nicole and Ron in 1994 and the subsequent trial that was nicknamed the Trial of the Century—in which O.J. was put on trial on national television—the multi-decade tale of crime and intrigue around him comes to a close with his passing.

Before being detained by police for interrogation shortly after the killings, O.J. led them on a low-speed pursuit on L.A. freeways in his Ford Bronco. This was one of the most spectacular and publicized events in recent American history and was widely broadcast on television.

THE O.J. SIMPSON BRONCO CHASE

He was the main suspect in the case that developed after he was apprehended. Eventually, prosecutors filed charges against him, claiming that on June 12, 1994, at Nicole’s Brentwood home, O.J. killed Ron with a savage stabbing.

O.J. assembled the renowned “dream team” of defense attorneys, headed by the departed Johnnie Cochran, who served as point person and contributed to dissecting the State’s case.

The fact that LAPD officer Mark Fuhrman had previously made racist remarks—which O.J.’s defense team claimed might have contributed to him planting a bloody glove found at Simpson’s house—was a key point of contention for Cochran throughout the trial.

O.J. SIMPSON MURDER TRIAL

This brought up another crucial moment in the trial: O.J.’s team asked to be permitted to try on the gloves in front of the jury in court, but they didn’t fit him exactly.

Cochran’s famous statement, “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit,” was eventually triggered by this during closing arguments. Ultimately, that defense was accepted by the jury.

To the surprise of many Americans, O.J. was found not guilty of the murder counts. Not too long later, though, he was sued for wrongful death in civil court by the Goldmans and the Browns. The case was heard in Santa Monica, where the jury judged him responsible for Ron and Nicole’s deaths. Tens of millions of dollars in damages were mandated for him to pay.

O.J. largely evaded paying the judgment despite the families’ persistent efforts to get him to do so. He finally left Los Angeles and relocated to Las Vegas, where he later ran into more legal issues, such as tax issues and criminal prosecution.

Prosecutors claim he broke into a Vegas hotel room in 2007 to retrieve sports memorabilia he thought had been stolen from him, then rolled up to face the new owner with a group of thugs and weapons in tow.

O.J. SIMPSON PAROLE AUDIT

In the end, he was taken into custody, given charges, put on trial, and found guilty of every accusation. After that, O.J. spent a significant amount of time behind bars until being granted parole in 2017.

After serving his sentence, O.J. moved to Sin City and lived a quiet, private life away from the spotlight. Despite this, he was active on social media, frequently sharing his thoughts on politics, sports, and other subjects on Twitter and X.

Obviously, by that point, his image had been utterly destroyed—partially because a lot of people think he did confess to the ’94 killings in a book and interview he did later in the 2000s, although he dismissed this as “hypothetical”—as well as everything else that had happened over the years.

Nevertheless, he continued to be accosted by many admirers after his release from jail, frequently posing for pictures. Additionally, certain members of his family, especially his kids, continued to support him.

At seventy-six was O.J.