Although out of the public eye other than posting short videos on social media for much of the last year, OJ Simpson's death on April 10 was a significant story that swept the country. Simpson passed at the age of 76 after a battle with prostate cancer with his health rapidly declining over the last two weeks of his life.
Simpson's attorney Malcolm LaVergne said Tuesday that the polarizing figure was his normal self during an encounter in late March.
“He was awake, alert and chilling,” LaVergne told the Associated Press. “He's on the couch … drinking a beer and watching TV. And so that was the last time we had effective back-and-forth conversations. He's usually the one who keeps me up on the news… so we were just catching up on the news then.”
Then on April 5, LaVergne revealed a doctor said Simpson was “transitioning” and communicated very little in the days following.
On April 11, Simpson's family announced his passing via his X account, stating that his children and grandchildren surrounded him. However, LaVergne said that only one person, “a close family member,” was with Simpson at the time of his death. He did not identify who the person was.
Simpson's body was cremated on Wednesday, Laverge confirmed to CBS News. The attorney also said that to his knowledge, Simpson expressed his wishes to his four children.
OJ Simpson's tumultuous life
Simpson was a gifted football player who first made a name for himself as a star running back at the University of Southern California. After winning the Heisman Trophy in 1968, Simpson was the first overall selection by the Buffalo Bills in the 1969 NFL Draft.
After struggling to establish himself, Simpson broke out in his fourth NFL season in 1972, his first of five consecutive first-team All-Pro seasons. He was named NFL MVP in 1973 after achieving the first 2,000-yard rushing season in league history, becoming the second player to win both the Heisman Trophy and NFL MVP.
Simpson became an NFL analyst and appeared in several TV shows and movies after he retired from football.
His 1995 murder trial overshadowed all of that after he was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles a year earlier. Simpson was acquitted of the charges but found liable for both deaths in a California civil court trial in 1997.
According to Simpson's attorney, he did not pay most of the money owed to the victims' families.
OJ Simpson lived many different lives throughout his 76 years. He will likely be remembered by most for his off-the-field actions rather than his accomplished football career.
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