Lawyer Says O.J. Simpson Got 'Angry' and Confronted Him Over Confiscated Golf Clubs: 'I Saw the Rage' (Exclusive)

John Q. Kelly recalls Simpson slapping him "on the back harder and harder" following his 1997 civil lawsuit in an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE

A lawyer who formerly represented the estate of Nicole Brown Simpson is reflecting on a past exchange with O.J. Simpson, in which he says he "saw the rage in him."

John Q. Kelly — who represented the estate of Simpson's late ex-wife in the 1997 civil lawsuit filed by the Browns and the family of Ron Goldman — tells PEOPLE that while Simpson's personal property was being seized and auctioned off, the former professional athlete requested that his favorite set of golf clubs be returned to him.

Simpson, who died on April 10 at 76, had the items seized as part of a ruling in favor of the families, and as Kelly now shares, he was upset that Kelly "wouldn't allow him to get his golf clubs back."

Simpson was accused of murdering his ex-wife Brown Simpson and waiter Ron Goldman on June 12, 1994, before being famously acquitted of murder in 1995. He was later sued in civil court by the Browns and Goldmans, and they were awarded a liability judgment of $33.5 million in 1997.

"Believe it or not. The Goldman attorneys consented to have his golf clubs returned to him, and I did not. He asked me why. I told him. I just knew, I knew how much they meant to him, and I was going to hold onto them for now, and he got rather angry with me," Kelly says.

Related: O.J. Simpson Dead at 76 From Cancer, Family Announces

Kelly — who remembers Simpson as a "large, imposing personality" who "was very full of himself" — adds that he and Simpson would talk "a lot" on deposition breaks. After informing him that he'd hold onto the golf clubs, Kelly says Simpson began to slap him "on the back harder and harder with the eyes getting larger and larger, and it just went on for a minute."

The lawyer adds that he doesn't "think it was so much just about the golf clubs," which were "something that set him off about other things too."

When asked by PEOPLE if Simpson was adamant about not being responsible for Brown's death, Kelly adds: "In his mind, it never happened."

Related: O.J. Simpson's Friend—Whom He Once Robbed—Says O.J. Thought He'd 'Get Better' Before Death (Exclusive)

Simpson's family announced his death this week following a cancer diagnosis, via a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter).

"On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace," the post on Simpson's X account reads.

Several celebrities have since responded to the news of Simpson's death, including Caitlyn Jenner and sports commentator Bob Costas.

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