American football icon OJ Simpson goes home

American football icon OJ Simpson has gone home. The former football star 76, died after a battle with cancer.

His official Twitter account posted: ‘On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren.

‘During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.’

The 76-year-old was previously said to be undergoing chemotherapy amid a battle with prostate cancer.

Simpson is most known for being accused of murdering his former partner Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman. This is even despite commanding an impressive football career.

The trial transfixed America. In the White House, President Bill Clinton left the Oval Office and watched the verdict on his secretary’s TV.

Simpson’s acquittal was celebrated by many Black Americans. They saw Simpson as the victim of bigoted police. Meanwhile, many white Americans were appalled by his exoneration.

Simpson’s legal team included prominent criminal defense lawyers Johnnie Cochran, Alan Dershowitz and F. Lee Bailey, who often out-maneuvered the prosecution.

Prosecutors committed a memorable blunder when they directed Simpson to try on a pair of blood-stained gloves found at the murder scene, confident they would fit perfectly and show he was the killer.

In a highly theatrical demonstration, Simpson struggled to put on the gloves and indicated to the jury they did not fit.

Simpson struggled to put on the gloves which later tagged the greatest legal blunder of the 20th century.’

Delivering the trial’s most famous words, Cochran referred to the gloves in closing arguments to jurors with a rhyme: ‘If it doesn’t fit, you must acquit.’

Dershowitz later called the prosecution decision to ask Simpson to try on the gloves ‘the greatest legal blunder of the 20th century.’

However, he was found liable for both deaths in a 1997 civil lawsuit.

Simpson became involved in further legal issues and was sentenced to 33 years in prison after being found guilty of a Las Vegas robbery, but was released in 2017 after serving almost nine years behind bars.

No doubt, Simpson will be remembered for many different reasons as the world bids him farewell.