O.J. Simpson, a Hall of Fame football player and Heisman Trophy winner when he played football at USC, has died of cancer in Las Vegas, according to social media reports. He was 76.
His family posted on social media Simpson died on Wednesday.
“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 posted on social media.
Simpson was battling prostate cancer and was in hospice care, according to reports by TMZ.
After his football career, Simpson had a successful acting career, appearing in “The Naked Gun” movies and as a spokesman in Hertz commercials.
He was on trial, accused of killing his ex-wife and her friend in 1994, and acquitted of those charges in one of the most high-profile court cases of the 1990s.
Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman were found stabbed to death on June 12, 1994, outside of Brown Simpson’s home in Brentwood. Days later, Simpson was identified by police as a suspect in the killings.
Simpson with friend Al Cowlings led police on a chase in a white Bronco through Southern California five days after the killings. An estimated 95 million Americans watched the chase on television though Los Angeles that lasted for two hours.
Simpson eventually surrendered to police and was later on trial for the murders of Simpson Brown and Goldman. Simpson was acquitted of the murder charges in October 1995, 11 months after the trial started.
Twelve years later, Simpson was found guilty of kidnapping and armed robbery for breaking into a Las Vegas hotel and casino with other men in September 2007 and stealing at gunpoint what he claimed was his own sports memorabilia. He was sentenced to 33 years in prison a year later and was released on parole on Oct. 1, 2017.
Simpson is survived by four children, Arnelle and Jason, from his first marriage, and Sydney and Justin from his marriage to Simpson Brown.