O.J. Simpson won’t be honored as a Buffalo Bills legend at team’s new stadium
TheGrio...
Simpson was the first honoree in the Bills’ Walk of Fame at the old Highmark Stadium in 1980.
When the Buffalo Bills open their new Highmark Stadium this fall, one name that won’t be featured among the team’s greatest players is O.J. Simpson.
Simpson, who was the first player in NFL history to rush for 2,000 yards in a single season, was featured among the team’s legends at the old Highmark Stadium as its original Wall of Fame inductee. His name remained, despite widespread debate, as he was named a suspect in the 1994 killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Despite his acquittal in 1995, he was found liable in a wrongful death lawsuit and ordered to pay the Goldman and Brown families $33.5 million in 1997.
However, the Bills are opting not to acknowledge Simpson, who finished his career as the team’s all-time leading rusher before being surpassed by another Hall of Famer, Thurman Thomas.
“We have made an organizational decision that he is not a fit to display inside our new stadium and family circle,” Bills president of business operations Pete Guelli said in a statement.
The family circle honoring past team legends will be located outside the stadium and will detail the team’s history. Simpson will likely be the lone Hall of Famer from the Bills not to be mentioned in the new family circle.
Drafted No. 1 overall in 1969, Simpson played 11 years in the NFL, nine of which were with the Bills. He was named NFL MVP in 1973 after rushing for 2,000 yards and was later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. After his playing career, he transitioned into broadcasting and films, but his professional career and personal reputation were tarnished after the 1995 trial.
On his “Nightcap” podcast show with Shannon Sharpe and Joe Johnson, former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson understood the Bills’ decision to exclude Simpson.
“Innocent or not, you have to understand how those organizations think,” Johnson said. “‘Yeah, he played for our organization, but to us, he’s still a stain, and putting him in this new building, it ain’t happening, innocent or not.’ There are too many red flags. For those in the chat who might be Bills fans, I might say, ‘Well, Ocho tripping.’ No, I’m not tripping. I’m just thinking how they’re thinking.”
He added, “If it was me, I understand what he did for my franchise. He’d be up there if it was me. But hell, I don’t own the Bills, that ain’t my stadium. I know how they’re thinking, though. ‘Hell nahh, we ain’t putting him in our new (expletive).’”
Simpson died of cancer in April 2024. The Bills, who had begun to distance themselves from the former NFL running back publicly, did not issue a public statement offering condolences or acknowledging his passing.