Former Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson will not be honored at the team’s new stadium.
Simpson, who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman in one of the most high-profile trials of the 20th century, had been prominently featured on the team’s Wall of Fame at their old stadium.
The team’s new Highmark Stadium opened Tuesday with a “Family Circle” area that honors legendary players. Simpson, who died aged 76 in April 2024 from prostate cancer, will not be included in the area, ESPN first reported.
“We have made an organizational decision that he is not a fit to display inside our new stadium and family circle,” Bills president of business operations Pete Guelli said in a statement Saturday. The space will serve as a gathering place and feature the team’s three bison statues.
Though Simpson set numerous team records and was the first member inducted into the old stadium’s Wall of Fame. But his reputation was beyond repair after he was charged in the stabbing deaths of his ex-wife and her friend in 1994.
While he was acquitted of all charges, he was later found liable for the deaths in a separate civil case. Simpson was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages to the Brown and Goldman families. He only paid some of the debt before his death.
He later served nine years in prison for an unrelated armed robbery over sports memorabilia in 2007.
Simpson, often referred to as one of the greatest running backs of all time, was the number one draft pick in 1969 and played for the Buffalo Bills for eight years before joining the San Francisco 49ers for two years.
During his career, he earned the titles of Most Valuable Player, Offensive Player of the Year and more.
He is still honored in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
He spent his later years leaning into his bad reputation, writing a book in 2016 called “If I Did It.” The rights of the book ended up going to Goldman’s family.
Until his death in 2024, Simpson maintained his innocence in the murders of Brown and Goldman.
The Bills have long attempted to distance themselves from Simpson following the murder charges. While he would occasionally attend Buffalo home games, the team would not acknowledge his presence. The team also did not acknowledge his death in 2024.
The team’s former stadium, also called Highmark Stadium, is in the process of being demolished. However, they held a ribbon-cutting ceremony on the new facility last week.
With reporting by the Associated Press
