Whatever Happened to: OJ Simpson

So I've been wanting to do one of those series "Whatever Happened to" and I thought what better time to start than the present. Right? Carpe diem or something.


Our first piece is on a guy you may not remember was a 49er. I'd lost track of him in the last ten or 15 years, but after doing some research it turns out he's been up to a lot of interesting stuff.

OJ Simpson is a Hall of Famer and former Heisman Trophy winner who spent almost all of his career with the Buffalo Bills. OJ played his final 2 seasons with his hometown 49ers before retiring to a career of acting and broadcasting.

I was wondering what happened to him after broadcasting, and apparently in 1994 he was arrested for murdering his ex-wife after some sort of car chase. I guess this was a big deal at the time. Go figure.

OJ was eventually acquitted in October of 1995, leading to race riots much rejoicing in the black communities of LA. Following the acquittal, OJ travelled the country tirelessly searching golf courses everywhere for the real killer.

All seemed hunky dory in the land of Simpson until the greedy family of his dead wife filed a civil lawsuit. The nerve! OJ was ordered to pay $33,500,000 in damages. Holy crap. She was one expensive woman. Remind me to check the price tag before I pick one out. In February '99 an auction of Simpson's Heisman Trophy and other belongings netted almost $500,000 for the Goldman family. He moved from California to Miami in hopes of having a better shot at finding the real killer. Oh and in Florida a person's residence cannot be seized to collect a debt under most circumstances. I guess that was nice, too.

Get this, though. The story doesn't end there. Crazy shit, I know. So late last year our boy OJ, looking to make some cash, wrote a book "If I Did It: Confessions of a Killer". Brilliant move, if you ask me. Strike while the iron's hot, OJ! He never did get it out on shelves, though. Who knows what the holdup was. It's not like it's insensitive... she's dead. But, whatevs.


[vibe]

Moving on... most recently OJ has been chilling with a crew he put together in Las Vegas. Last week he decided to enact some justice of his own and take back what's rightfully his... his All-American Ball, for example. Think Ocean's 13, only grittier. This seems like the true American entrepreneurial spirit if you ask me. OJ and several of his cohorts busted in to a memorabilia dealer's hotel room with automatics out and stole reclaimed OJ's rightfully owned gear. Apparently, though, holding up a person and robbing them at gunpoint is some sort of "felony". I thought those sorts of shenanigans were allowed in Las Vegas. Isn't it supposed to be the "wild wild west"? Originally denied bail, the judge reconsidered and set it $125,000. Anyway, our man Juice is now out on bail and back in Miami. Here's what his lawyer had to say:

(h/t With Leather)

Just goes to show that what goes on in Vegas, does not always stay in Vegas.

I don't know how I've missed all this. But there you have it: Whatever Happened to OJ Simpson. Next week maybe we'll do JJ Stokes. That should be a hell of a lot shorter.

Just in case you're feeling adventurous [ebay]