O.J. Simpson

Once again, O.J is in the news. This time he is accused of taking part in an armed robbery in an attempt to retrieve sports memorabilia that he says was stolen from him. He could get up to 30 years of prison time for his part in this latest escapade if convicted. The irony of here is so thick I need not even explain it. O.J. was the original jock-turned sportscaster golden boy. He had everything. He won the Heisman Trophy is senior year at USC, was the first pick in the draft and went on to have a Hall of Fame career with the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49'ers. He was the first player to every rush for over 2000 yds. in a season, and he put up all those impressive numbers playing on some pretty bad teams. Anyone else remember the Hertz commercials with O.J. hurdling through the airport trying to get to his rental car? He had a cushy job doing football analysis, he had it all. That is, until 1994.

Everyone knows the story of the "Trial of the Century" and the outcome. But what happened after the trial is where this tale of caution took an ugly turn. Simpson put himself above justice and above the law. He even had the audacity of write a book "If I Did It", in which he told a supposedly fictional account of how he would have killed his wife and her friend Ron Goldman, had he actually done it. Right!! He sold his home in California, moved to Miami, vacations in Cabo San Lucas, plays golf and lives a pretty good life, even though he claims poverty and has yet to pay any substantial portion of the 33.5 million dollar wrongful death claim judgement that was issued against him following his acquittal on murder charges. He has sold many of his awards and trophies, including his Heisman Trophy, and can even still occassionally get someone to pay him upwards of $20,000 to come and sign autographs for a weekend. Now he may actually go to jail for alledgedly trying to steal back his own stuff. Funny how things work out sometimes.

Star power has a long half-life. The ability of people to forgive and forget is never more evident than when it comes to celebrities, especially athletes. We tend to forgive them and reinstate their iconic status not for what they are but for what they once were. Simpson has longed played this card, putting himself above the law and flaunting his star power and the perceived "prejudice" against him. When asked during this recent arrest why he didn't call the police, he stated that he doesn't have much faith in the police because whenever it involves him, "it just becomes another O.J. story". Hey O.J., here's a heads up. Nobody really cares about you anymore. The guy that won the Heisman, the first player to every rush for 2000 yds., the guy that gave us all those thrills, he died a long time ago. All we are left with is a sad parody of a man too stubborn to change, too stupid to care and now one that may finally earn the title that he most richly deserves: felon.