Former Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson will not be featured at the team’s new stadium. The facility cost $2.1 billion and took three years to complete, from its groundbreaking to the ribbon-cutting held last week.
Highmark Stadium integrates the Bills’ history, showcasing a Wall of Fame with team legends, yet Simpson, the team’s top draft pick in 1969, is absent. NBC affiliate WGRZ reported, “We have made an organizational decision that he is not a fit to display inside our new stadium and family circle,” stated Pete Guelli, the team’s president of business operations.
Simpson spent nine of his 11 NFL seasons with the Bills, becoming the first in league history to rush over 2,000 yards in a single season. Before retiring to pursue broadcasting, he was hailed as the best running back of his time.
Simpson’s football legacy was revered until the 1990s when his personal life cast a shadow. In 1994, his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman were murdered outside her Los Angeles home. Upon visiting Simpson’s home, police discovered a blood trail leading from his car.
The tumultuous period unfolded with murder charges and a dramatic car chase involving Simpson in the back of a white Ford Bronco, viewed nationwide via news helicopters.
In 1995, Simpson was acquitted during a criminal trial dubbed the “Trial of the Century” that captivated the nation. Debate ensued; some blamed LAPD racism while others cited Simpson’s wealth for the acquittal. He was found liable in a wrongful death civil suit later.
Simpson’s public image endured ongoing damage. In 2008, he was sentenced for an armed robbery in Las Vegas involving sports memorabilia. Claiming recovery of stolen items, he faced nine to 33 years imprisonment, serving the minimum before parole.
Simpson passed away from cancer at 76.