American football legend OJ Simpson dies of cancer

OJ Simpson, the former American footballer who was controversially cleared of double murder, has died aged 76, his family says.

Orenthal James Simpson rose to fame as a college footballer before playing in the NFL.

In 1995, he was acquitted of the murder of his former wife Nicole Brown and a friend in a trial that gripped America.

In 2008, he was sentenced to 33 years’ imprisonment on charges of armed robbery. He was released in 2017.

Simpson died of cancer on Wednesday, his family wrote on Twitter/X.

“He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” the statement read.

In 1994, Simpson was arrested as a suspect in the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman. The ensuing trial gripped the nation.

The trial was one of the most notorious in 20th Century America. Prosecutors argued Simpson killed Brown in a jealous fury. Evidence presented in the trial included blood, hair and fibre tests linking Simpson to the murders.

The defence argued Simpson had been framed by police motivated by racism.

In one of the most memorable moments in the trial, prosecutors asked Simpson to wear a pair of blood-stained gloves allegedly found at the scene of the murder, but Simpson struggled to put on the gloves. The blunder led to one of Simpson’s lawyers, Johnnie Cochrane, telling the jury in his closing arguments: “If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.”

The jury ultimately sided with Simpson, who declared he was “absolutely 100% not guilty”. The acquittal proved hugely controversial.

In 2008, he was convicted of armed robbery. He was sentenced to 33 years in jail but was granted parole after serving a minimum of nine years.

Before his arrest on suspicion of murder, Simpson was regarded with affection by the public, well known as a professional athlete, actor and million-dollar spokesman for several US companies.

He played football at college before being signed to the Buffalo Bills NFL team in 1969, where he played until 1977.

He became one of the greatest ball carriers in NFL history. In 1973, he became the first NFL player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season. He retired in 1979.