OJ Simpson has been out of jail for several months now.
For the most part, Simpson has stayed rather quiet since his release.
But the former Buffalo Bills star made headlines over the weekend in two major ways.
Simpson has always been attracted to fame.
Following his acquittal for the double-murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her boyfriend Ronald Goldman, Simpson left California for Florida to escape the animosity that grew from the ‘Trial of the Century’.
However, The Juice managed to enjoy celebrity status in Florida, regularly going to nightclubs and surrounded by people who genuinely wanted to hang out with him.
Obviously all of that was cut short when he landed himself back in jail after robbing a memorabilia dealer over his personal sports paraphernalia.
He did his time and now he’s out, with his celebrity appeal seemingly left unscathed.
Simpson was spotted taking pictures with fans in Las Vegas before the Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars playoff game this past weekend.
Yahoo Sports reports:
“The Buffalo Bills are in their first playoff game since 2000. And that’s filled everyone in Bills Nation with tremendous pride. But here’s the thing: Bills Nation happens to include a fella by the name of O.J. Simpson.
Early in Buffalo’s wild card game against Jacksonville, Twitter lit up with photos of Simpson enjoying the game at a bar in Las Vegas with fellow Bills fans:
OJ Simpson is hanging out with Bills fans in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/NluMAe7HZ7
— Jordan Heck (@JordanHeckFF) January 7, 2018
(Some early reports that Simpson was in attendance at the game were inaccurate.) Simpson is sporting a LeSean McCoy No. 25 jersey; he himself wore No. 32 back in his playing days, back when he regularly led the league in rushing attempts, yards and touchdowns.
In perhaps his finest season, 1973, he rushed for 2,003 yards and 12 touchdowns in 14 games. But he only reached the playoffs once, and after retirement, his life took a decidedly different turn.”
It’s unbelievable how people are quick to forget about a shaky past when they’re in the presence of a celebrity.
It just proves that celebrity and status is an extremely valuable commodity, albeit a shallow one.
However one business establishment was not so easily mesmerized by the infamy that is OJ Simpson, which was the second story that put him in the headlines this weekend.
Breitbart reports:
“O.J. Simpson is threatening to sue a Las Vegas casino for $100 million after the establishment banned him from the premises last year.
Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson’s lawyer, warned the Cosmopolitan hotel-casino that the former NFL player and convict may charge the establishment with “malice and racial prejudice” after being banned over a still largely unexplained incident in November.
“Mr. Simpson has had 100% perfect behavior since he’s been on parole,” LaVergne said according to USA Today. “He was having dinner with a friend from out of town, and everything was going great. The next thing you know, when he was leaving, they told him, ‘Don’t come back.’”
The incident spurred controversy early in November when it was reported that Simpson caused some sort of ruckus in a hotel bar. An early report on the incident claimed Simpson was “drunk and disorderly” and may have violated his parole.
Simpson was banned from the bar and the hotel, according to further reports.
However, in the days after initial stories, the hotel insisted that the reports were “inaccurate,” though no clarification was ever offered.”
It’s refreshing to see that some have not forgotten that this man is a convicted criminal, and a murderer, despite being acquitted of the latter.