O.J. Simpson Family Speaks Out About Father's Death

O.J. Simpson, the former NFL star who was accused of killing his wife, has died after succumbing to cancer, according to his family.

In a post to social platform X on Thursday, the family said the 76-year-old passed away surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

"On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer," the post read.

"During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace," it said.

Context

Earlier this year speculation grew that Simpson was ill, but he denied being in a hospice in a video posted to X on February 9.

"Hospice?...I don't know who put that out there...in any event I'm hosting a ton of friends for the Super Bowl here in Las Vegas," he said. "All is well."

Simpson, who was known as "The Juice," played 11 NFL seasons, nine of them with the Buffalo Bills. He won four NFL rushing titles and played in five Pro Bowls.

He subsequently forged a career in show business before being acquitted in a 1995 trial that gripped the nation of charges he killed his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

Newsweek has reached out to Simpson's X account for additional comment from the family.

Views

Following the trial, often described as the "Trial of the Century," Simpson's life remained tumultuous. He was later found liable in a 1997 civil lawsuit for the wrongful deaths of his former wife and Goldman and ordered to pay damages of $33.5 million. Simpson, however, continued to maintain his innocence.

In 2007, he was arrested in Las Vegas and charged with armed robbery and kidnapping, for which he was convicted in 2008 and sentenced to 33 years in prison. Simpson was granted parole in July 2017, after serving nearly nine years.

Simpson's legal battles overshadowed his accomplishments on the football field and his subsequent careers in acting and broadcasting. His life story became a subject of extensive media coverage, documentaries, and a critically acclaimed television series, The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which aired in 2016.

What's Next?

Waves of posts and videos have flooded social media since the announcement of Simpson's death. Notably, Caitlyn Jenner—who was married to Nicole Brown Simpson's best friend, Kris Jenner at the time of her murder—posted to X in reaction to Simpson's death saying: "Good Riddance #OJSimpson."

Funeral plans for Simpson are not immediately known to Newsweek.