NFL Network host Kyle Brandt was having none of the O.J. Simpson niceties after Simpson’s family announced the former running back who stood trial for the murder of his wife and her friend passed away from cancer this week.
Brandt posted a video captioned “Thoughts on OJ Simpson’s legacy …” early Thursday that featured him saying simply, “murderer.”
Brandt later deleted the post on X (formerly Twitter), but not before online sleuths saved and served it back to him as a response to his other posts.
My J.J. McCarthy take: pic.twitter.com/sT9GmbUm64
— Dakota (@Dakota__Dakota) April 11, 2024
The sports and media world debated how to best remember Simpson after his death at 76 on Wednesday.
Up through the production of OJ: Made In America from ESPN in 2016, his release from prison in 2017, his appearances on popular sports podcast It Is What It Is starting last year and more, Simpson’s legacy was never settled.
The former Heisman winner and 1973 NFL MVP was acquitted of the murder of wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman in 1995 after a lengthy investigation and trial that inflamed racial tensions in Los Angeles and nationally. He was later found responsible for both deaths in a civil case and arrested and sentenced to prison time for kidnapping and assault while retaliating against the thieves of memorabilia from his athletic career.
Simpson was granted parole in 2017 but kept a low profile in Las Vegas. He was released from parole in late 2021.
For many, Simpson’s alleged violent misdeeds were where his legacy started and ended.
Many, including It Is What It Is host Cam’Ron (who put Simpson on as a recurring guest talking football), still believe Simpson was innocent. Others hoped to acknowledge Simpson’s legacy as an athlete, analyst and entertainer separate from the criminal allegations that engulfed the latter half of his life.
Brandt clearly believed Simpson’s legacy was far more simple, before thinking better of the post and removing it.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.