No, OJ Simpson was not honored alongside Willie Mays, Jerry West and Bill Walton during the ‘in memoriam’ portion of Thursday’s ESPY Awards.
Of course, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the late Buffalo Bills legend and accused murderer would go unmentioned during the segment, which was aimed at honoring the sports legends who have passed away over the last 365 days.
But that wasn’t the case earlier at this month’s BET Awards, where that network was slammed for including the scandalized ex-con, who later served nine years in prison for armed robbery before dying of cancer in April at age 76.
Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown and a her friend Ronald Goldman during the 1994 ‘trial of the century’ in Los Angeles, but was later found responsible for their deaths in a civil trial.
‘In the eyes of most people, regardless of an acquittal, OJ Simpson is a double murderer,’ Stephen A. Smith said on his podcast in response to the BET segment.
Smith, like many, objected to Simpson’s defense attorneys accusing the LAPD of racism at his 1994 trial.
‘My attitude is this: OJ Simpson never gave a s**t about black people until he was indicted — never gave a damn,’ Smith said.
‘Here’s the bigger issue, we should never be given a reason to talk about him again. We certainly shouldn’t be celebrating O.J. Simpson. I’m sorry. Not when two people were damn near decapitated and he was the prime suspect.’
And BET wasn’t the only major organization to honor Simpson following his death.
The Heisman Trophy’s X account also made a controversial post at the time.
‘The Heisman Trophy Trust mourns the passing of 1968 Heisman Torphy Winner OJ Simpson,’ read the post. ‘We extend our sympathy to his family.’
That post did not go down well with fans, who heavily criticized the graphic.
‘No one is mourning but you and his kids,’ one wrote.
‘Is this a parody account?’ another asked.
A different fan added: ‘My goodness……….get that resume up to date, Admin.’
ESPN avoided such criticism this week by simply omitting any mention of Simpson.
But that wasn’t the case in 1998, when host Norm Macdonald landed an infamous joke about Simpson.
The accused double murder had been ordered by the judge in his civil trial to pay the Goldman family $33.5 million, prompting Simpson to sell his Heisman at auction for a reported $255,500.
Addressing 1997 Heisman winner Charles Woodson at the 1998 ESPYs, Macdonald was sure to reference Simpson’s decision to unload his trophy.
‘And there’s Charles Woodson!’ Macdonald said during his monologue. ‘How about that? What a season he had. He became the first defensive player to win the Heisman Trophy. Congratulations, Charles, that is something that no one can ever take away from you.’
Macdonald paused for effect before adding: ‘Unless you kill your wife and a waiter, in which case, all bets are off.’
