American football NFL legend OJ Simpson dies of cancer at 76

OJ Simpson, the former American footballer who was controversially cleared of double murder, has died at the age of 76, his family announced.

Orenthal Prior to his NFL career, James Simpson rose to prominence as a collegiate football player.

He was acquitted of the murders of his former wife Nicole Brown and a friend in a trial that captivated America in 1995.

In 2008, he was sentenced to 33 years in jail for armed robbery. He was freed in 2017.

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“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” the statement read.

Simpson was arrested in 1994 as a suspect in the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman. The subsequent trial captivated the country.

The trial was among the most infamous in twentieth-century America. Prosecutors said Simpson killed Brown out of jealousy. The trial featured blood, hair, and fibre testing that linked Simpson to the killings.

The defence claimed Simpson was framed by officers who were motivated by prejudice.

In one of the most iconic moments of the trial, prosecutors wanted Simpson to put on a pair of blood-stained gloves purportedly discovered at the murder scene, but Simpson struggled to do so. The error prompted one of Simpson’s lawyers, Johnnie Cochrane, to urge the jury in his closing arguments: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”

The jury eventually sided with Simpson, who declared himself “absolutely not guilty.” The acquittal was highly contentious.

In 2008, he was convicted of armed robbery. He was sentenced to 33 years in prison, but was given release after serving at least nine years.

Before his incarceration on murder charges, Simpson was a well-known professional athlete, actor, and million-dollar representative for multiple US firms.

He played football in college before joining the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League in 1969 and remaining there until 1977.

He established himself as one of the finest ball carriers in NFL history. In 1973, he was the first NFL player to carry for over 2,000 yards in a season. He retired in 1979.

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