O.J. Simpson Dies of Cancer at Age 76

O.J. Simpson, born Orenthal James Simpson, who rose to fame as a former running back who spent 11 seasons in the NFL, has passed away after losing his battle with cancer.

He was 76.

“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 family statement reads.

In May 2023, Simpson announced on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, that he had “caught cancer” and “had to do the whole chemo thing.”

He also wrote that he believed he had “beat” it.

In February, a Las Vegas television station WPLG reported that Simpson was undergoing once again treatment for an unspecified cancer.

Simpson was quick to dismiss the media reports.

“My health is good. I mean, obviously I’m dealing with some issues but I think I’m just about over it,” Simpson wrote on X.

Simpson spent a decade in the NFL playing for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers. In 1968, Simpson won USC’s second Heisman while setting the NCAA single-season rushing mark. Following his retirement from football in 1979, he went on to star in several major Hollywood movies, including the “Naked Gun” movies, “Roots” and the Lyndall Hobbs-directed comedy “Back to the Beach.”

However, the formidable athlete left behind a tarnished legacy after he was acquitted of killing his former wife and her friend in a 1995 trial. Two years later, a civil suit was filed against Simpson by the victims’ families. He was found liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald L. Goldman and ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages.

More recently the Simpson served almost nine years in prison for robbery, kidnapping and other counts in Las Vegas after kidnapping two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint. He was released in 2017 on good behavior.