OJ Simpson’s Lawyer Describes Simpson’s Last Days, Says Family Won’t Donate Brain To CTE Research

Armon Sadler
·3 min read
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O.J. Simpson’s death was a shock to many in the community despite the fact he was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year. Those around him in his final days have revealed that his condition worsened drastically from Easter onward.

“He was awake, alert and chilling,” Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson’s attorney told AP News. “He’s on the couch… drinking a beer and watching TV. And so that was the last time we had effective back-and-forth conversations. He’s usually the one who keeps me up on the news… so we were just catching up on the news then.”

One week later, a doctor told LaVergne that his client was “transitioning.” During his latest visit, Simpson could only muster up the strength to ask for water and choose what he wanted to watch on television. “Of course he chose golf,” LaVergne said. “He was an absolute golf fanatic.”

Malcolm LaVergne revealed that O.J. Simpson will be fully cremated. “His entire body, his brain, everything, his fake hips, his fake knees, everything,” he told PEOPLE. “That all goes into the crematorium.” As far as using his brain for CTE research, LaVergne revealed that Simpson’s family was vehemently against it.

“With O.J., everything’s wild, but I’ve been getting calls from medical centers that are doing CTE testing asking me for O.J.’s brain,” he revealed to The New York Post. “That is not happening.”

O.J. Simpson’s death was first announced on April 11 via X, formerly known as Twitter. “On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” one of his family members wrote on his account. “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.”

While the tweet claimed O.J. Simpson was surrounded by his family, Malcolm LaVergne revealed that only one relative was with him when he died. “You have to remember that they’ve shared O.J. with the world their entire lives,” he said.

“At first they shared good O.J. But still he was famous… And then, in 1994 on, they kind of had to share bad boy O.J. with the world. But at the end of the day, these children just lost a father. And they have the added burden that he is one of the most famous people on the planet, and who is polarizing and who is surrounded by controversy.”

O.J. Simpson is best known for being acquitted of murder charges stemming from 1994; his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were found stabbed to death in Los Angeles. The trial is often regarded as the “trial of the century,” and lives in infamy especially after Simpson released his 2007 book, If I Did It.

O.J. Simpson was also a legendary football player. He was the first NFL athlete to rush for over 2000 yards in a single season and holds the record for an average of 143.1 rushing yards per game. Simpson won both the MVP award and Offensive Player Of The Year recognition in 1973, two standout accomplishments on a resume that also boasted five Pro Bowl selections and five First-Team All-Pro selections.

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