He was the "Juice." Long before the white Ford Bronco or the black leather glove, Orenthal James Simpson was the golden boy of American sports. He had this smile—genuine, wide, and radiating a kind of "All-American" charm that made people forget he grew up wearing leg braces due to rickets.
Most people today know him as a defendant. Or a meme. Honestly, it's easy to forget that in 1973, he was the first human to rush for over 2,000 yards in a single NFL season. He did it in 14 games.
Think about that.
The man was a superhero in cleats. Then, he became a movie star. Then, he became the center of a murder trial that literally changed how we watch television. O.J. Simpson died in April 2024 at the age of 76, but even in 2026, we’re still living in the world his trial created.
The Rise of a Cultural Icon
O.J. didn't just play football; he conquered it. At USC, he was a force of nature, winning the Heisman Trophy in 1968 by one of the largest margins ever. When he went to the Buffalo Bills, he wasn't just a player—he was the franchise.
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He was safe. He was "post-racial" in the eyes of white America during a very turbulent time.
You’ve probably seen the old Hertz commercials. O.J. sprinting through an airport, leaping over luggage, white grandmas cheering him on. He was the first Black athlete to truly become a corporate pitchman on that scale. He was the blueprint for Michael Jordan. He famously said, "I'm not Black, I'm O.J."
That quote would come back to haunt the public's perception of him later.
By the late '80s, he was Nordberg in The Naked Gun. He was a goofy, lovable sidekick. He was a commentator on Monday Night Football. He lived in a mansion in Brentwood. He was the American Dream personified, right up until June 12, 1994.
The Night Everything Shattered
The murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman were brutal. There's no other way to put it. They were stabbed to death outside Nicole's condo on Bundy Drive.
When the police started looking at O.J., the world stopped.
The low-speed chase on June 17, 1994, was watched by 95 million people. Think about that number. Dominos Pizza reported record sales because nobody wanted to leave their TV to cook. Even the NBA Finals were relegated to a tiny box in the corner of the screen.
Why the Trial of the Century Changed You
The trial itself lasted nine months. It wasn't just a legal proceeding; it was the birth of modern reality TV. Before the Kardashians were... well, "The Kardashians," their father, Robert Kardashian, was standing next to O.J. as part of the "Dream Team."
- DNA Evidence: Most people hadn't heard of DNA testing before this trial.
- The 24-Hour News Cycle: CNN, which was still relatively young, saw its ratings explode.
- The Racial Divide: This is the part that still stings.
Polls at the time showed a massive gap. Most white Americans saw a mountain of physical evidence—the bloody glove, the socks, the trail of blood. Most Black Americans saw a history of LAPD corruption and a man being framed.
The defense, led by Johnnie Cochran, knew exactly what they were doing. "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit."
When the "Not Guilty" verdict came down on October 3, 1995, the country split in half. For some, it was a gross miscarriage of justice. For others, it was a long-overdue "payback" for the Rodney King verdict years earlier.
The Las Vegas Downfall
O.J. was acquitted in criminal court but found liable in a 1997 civil trial. He was ordered to pay $33.5 million to the Goldman and Brown families. He never really paid it. He moved to Florida, lived off his NFL pension (which couldn't be seized), and played golf.
But he couldn't stay out of the spotlight.
In 2007, he walked into a Las Vegas hotel room with a group of men to "reclaim" sports memorabilia he claimed was stolen from him. They had guns.
Exactly 13 years to the day after his murder acquittal, he was found guilty of armed robbery and kidnapping. He spent nine years in a Nevada prison. People called it "the karma sentence." He was released in 2017 and spent his final years in Las Vegas, posting videos on X (formerly Twitter) about fantasy football and his golf game.
The Final Act
O.J. Simpson died of prostate cancer on April 10, 2024. He never confessed. He even wrote a book called If I Did It, which the Goldman family eventually won the rights to and published with the word "If" in a tiny, almost invisible font.
So, who is O.J. Simpson really?
He’s a Rorschach test. To a football fan, he’s one of the greatest running backs to ever lace up. To a legal scholar, he’s the reason we have cameras in courtrooms. To the families of Nicole and Ron, he’s a man who got away with murder.
He is the moment America lost its innocence regarding celebrity. We learned that fame, money, and a great legal team could create a reality that exists outside of the evidence.
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What You Can Do Now
If you want to understand the modern media landscape, you have to look at the Simpson trial. It explains why we are obsessed with true crime and why our news looks like entertainment.
- Watch the Documentary: "O.J.: Made in America" is widely considered the definitive look at his life and the racial politics of LA.
- Study the Evidence: If you're interested in the law, look up the transcripts regarding the DNA evidence and the cross-examination of Mark Fuhrman.
- Reflect on Media Literacy: Notice how the trial turned lawyers into celebrities—a trend that continues with every high-profile case today.
The "Juice" is gone, but the ripples of his life are still hitting the shore.