April 11 (UPI) — O.J. Simpson, the Hall of Fame NFL running back who became better known for a celebrity murder trial and time in prison for robbery, died on Wednesday after battling cancer, his family said on Thursday. He was 76 years old.
“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” the family said in a statement posted on X. “During this time of transition,his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”
His football career, where he won the Heisman Trophy and once held the prestigious record for most yards gained in the single season in the NFL, all took a backstage to the so-called “Trial of the Century” in 1995 when Simpson was acquitted in the stabbing deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
Simpson found himself in legal trouble again in 2008, when he was found guilty on 12 charges including kidnapping and armed robbery in a case over sports memorabilia in Las Vegas. He was released on parole in 2017 after serving nine years of a 33-year sentence.
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