BREAKING: O.J. Simpson Passes Away At 76

The family of O.J. Simpson gave a heartbreaking update Thursday morning, sharing on X that the patriarch of the family died after an extended battle against cancer.

Simpson’s family told his followers on X that the legendary college player peacefully passed away Wednesday night surrounded by his family.

“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” the post reads.

“During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace,” they wrote, turning off replies.

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 Simpson Family

— O.J. Simpson (@TheRealOJ32) April 11, 2024

Simpson had experienced a minor resurgence online in recent years, hopping on X and Instagram to share his thoughts about various news of the day while offering biting commentary about the state of football. His posts would regularly generate hundreds of reposts, likes, and comments as followers flocked to share their thoughts and hope for a bit of back-and-forth with the Heisman Trophy winner.

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However, Simpson never escaped the shadow of his 1995 trial over the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. Dubbed “The Trial of the Century,” Simpson was acquitted of murder despite a tremendous amount of forensic evidence introduced by prosecutors and his iconic slow-speed fleeing from the police on a California highway in his white Bronco. Ushered to victory by his attack dog attorney Johnnie Cochran, Simpson’s team capitalized on Black anger toward the Los Angeles Police Department just several years after the city’s torrential riots following the beating of Rodney King.

Though he was found not guilty, the trial sidelined Simpson from taking lucrative business deals that he had enjoyed since retiring from professional football in 1979. In 2007 he advised a team of authors behind the book “If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer” which hypothesizes who might have killed Brown Simpson and Goldman. An announcement of its forthcoming release prompted such fierce blowback that the book was never put up for sale; instead, News Corporation, which owned the publishing company, recalled approximately 400,000 copies and stored them away in a vault.

In 2013, Simpson was convicted of the armed robbery of sports memorabilia collectors and sentenced to 33 years in prison though was released after serving just nine.