What happened
Orenthal James "O.J." Simpson died Wednesday at age 76 after a "battle with cancer," his family said Thursday. Simpson was one of football's most celebrated players and a popular movie actor until he was credibly charged with the 1994 murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman. A jury acquitted him, but he was later found liable for the deaths and ordered to pay millions in damages.
Who said what
Simpson died "surrounded by his children and grandchildren," who asked that the public "respect their wishes for privacy and grace," the family said. Simpson's death is "no great loss to the world," Goldman's father, Fred, told NBC News.
The commentary
Simpson's many accomplishments were eclipsed by his televised murder trial, which "held up a cracked mirror to Black and white America," The New York Times said. The polarizing case "remained a consistent subject of public fascination, spawning documentaries, books and a fictionalized TV series," The Wall Street Journal said.
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