O.J. Simpson Dead at 76

O.J. Simpson has died following a battle with prostate cancer, his family announced on Thursday. The former Buffalo Bills running back was 76.

"On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer," his family said in a statement on social media, adding that he was surrounded by his children and grandchildren when he passed. "During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace," the statement added.

According to TMZ, Simpson's health recently took a turn for the worse after battling prostate cancer in recent years, and he had spent the past few months in hospice care. However, his passing comes just months after he denied rumors that he was in quality of life treatment.

“I’m not in any hospice. I don’t know who put that out there," Simpson said in a Feb. 9 video message posted to social media. "Whoever put that out there, I guess it’s like the Donald say: ‘You can’t trust the media.'" He added that “all is well” and that he would be hosting friends for Super Bowl LVIII.

Simpson is widely regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time. However, the controversy surrounding the 1994 murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman has overshadowed his professional accomplishments.

After being acquitted for the murders in a high-profile criminal trial, the families of the victims later filed a civil lawsuit against Simpson, in which he was unanimously found liable. He was ordered to pay a total of $33,500,000 in damages; $8.5 million in compensatory damages to the Goldman family as well as $12.5 million in punitive damages to both families.

But even after being acquitted of murder, Simpson never escaped legal troubles. Most famously, he led an armed robbery in a Las Vegas hotel room, stealing sports memorabilia from a dealer at gunpoint. For that crime, he was found guilty and sentenced to 33 years in prison.

In July 2017, Simpson was granted parole and released three months later. He was later granted early discharge from parole in December 2021 and had remained a free man until the time of his death.