Thursday, April 17, 2014

O.J. Simpson: The Turning Point


Before there was Aaron Hernandez—cloaked in a white t-shirt and gang tattoos, being escorted by the police—there was O.J. Simpson, the infamous white Bronco, and those gloves. Dubiously, “the Juice” could be considered the original poster child of high-profile accused criminals affiliated with the NFL.
On the evening of June 12, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson, O.J. Simpson’s ex-wife, and her friend Ronald Goldman were murdered and discovered in the early hours of June 13. The man once known for juking defenders on the football field was chased down Los Angeles freeways in a white Ford Bronco and arrested June 17. The 1968 Heisman Trophy-winning halfback was charged with the double homicide, and the trial mesmerized the nation in the months to follow. On October 3, 1995, Simpson was acquitted in a jury decision that polarized Americans and took TV airwaves hostage.

Photo courtesy of binaryapi.ap.org.

The details of the O.J. Simpson case are solidified, if not by public acceptance at least by time and the relative shock value of crimes since committed by NFL talents. Like previously-mentioned Rae Carruth and Jovan Belcher, Simpson lacked a lengthy criminal past. However, he is said to have been involved in a San Francisco gang as a teenager.
O.J. Simpson represents something very different from the men mentioned prior to him in this series. He precedes them. He symbolizes the crushed esteem of sports fans who previously maintained the façade that professional athletes at least shied away from trouble. Like Watergate for politicians or Columbine for school safety, the accusations, the chase, the attention-hogging trial, and the famous verdict cracked the shell of a world in which our professional athletes were susceptible to the snags of being human.
Prior to the Juice, criminal mischief done by ne’er-do-well athletes was low-profile. June 1994 changed that, acquittal or not. The beloved halfback, Buffalo Bill, commercial personality, and actor became the face of cold-blooded murder, whether he committed it or only appeared to have. Prosecutors Marcia Clark and her team ripped back the curtain on an all-too-common truth now well-known across the world of professional football: the guys on Sunday are human, and many are big and violent.
Check out my first blog:  The Guys on Sunday: Big and Violent

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