Two weeks after the death of OJ Simpson, lawyer Malcolm LaVergne revealed to People magazine, this Friday (26), what was the cause of the former American football player’s death.
The NFL athlete’s legal representative confirmed that the cause of death was metastasis — when a tumor spreads throughout the body — of prostate cancer. “I was pretty sure it was prostate cancer. Ultimately, that was the cause.”, said the lawyer. “He thought he had won. I thought that [esse capítulo] it was already over, but you know how cancer works. They come back and come back with full force”, he added.
OJ Simpson died on April 10, aged 76. The information was confirmed by the family through a statement on his X profile (formerly Twitter). In the text, family members gave more information and asked for respect at this delicate time.
Simpson’s diagnosis was reported to the media in February of this year. According to TMZ, since the disease was detected, his health has gradually worsened, and the former player has needed to receive palliative care in recent months, while undergoing chemotherapy. At the time, Simpson even spoke out publicly after rumors that he was in a mental institution.
Judgment of the century
In addition to being successful on the court as an American football player, OJ Simpson was also known for starring in the “trial of the century” in the 1990s. The case was one of the most notable in the world of celebrities and ended with Simpson’s acquittal. He was accused of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman.
On June 12, 1994, US police found the bodies of the victims in a house in Brentwood. Nicole’s body had been stabbed multiple times and left in front of the residence, beyond the gate. The corpse of Goldman, who was a waiter at a Los Angeles restaurant, was also found with the same marks. Simpson became suspected of having committed the crime and led one of the most remembered chases in the history of the United States.
After escaping, he was arrested and acquitted on October 3, 1995, by jury verdict. Robert Kardashian, father of Kim, Khloé and Kourtney Kardashian, was the athlete’s lawyer in the case. The trial even became a series, entitled “The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story”, produced by Ryan Murphy.
In 2007, 12 years after the case, Simpson was arrested again and released on parole in 2017 for good behavior. He broke into a Las Vegas hotel in an attempt to recover historical items and sporting memorabilia he believed to be his. The athlete was sentenced to 33 years in prison for kidnapping and armed robbery.
Career on the court and on the big screen
OJ Simpson broke American football records in the 1970s, and established himself on the San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills teams. He won the Heisman Trophy for the best player in the country and then built a career in the NFL (National Football League), the sport’s main league.
After retiring, Simpson switched to acting and achieved box office successes, especially with the “Get Out” trilogy, starring Leslie Nielsen. He has also starred in several TV commercials.
