At the age of 76, O.J. Simpson, accused murderer and convicted robber, has died. In as opposite a manner as his ex-wife Nicole — who was found nearly decapitated in a pool of her own blood, curled into a fetal position after being stabbed to death — the infamous felon and one-time football star passed away surrounded by friends and family. Prostate cancer, Simpson’s loved ones said, was the real killer here.
Simpson’s controversial murder acquittal in the face of stunning and inculpatory forensic evidence rendered him a pariah in almost all polite society, with one particularly egregious exception: his and my shared alma mater, the University of Southern California.
Across the palatial, peristyle steps in the eastern end zone of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, six oversized USC jerseys boast the numbers of the university’s eight Heisman Trophy winners. Excluded is not Simpson, but rather 2022 winner Caleb Williams, whose jersey is likely to be added soon, and 2005 winner Reggie Bush, who was retroactively sanctioned by the NCAA for accepting gifts while a student athlete in violation of the organization’s policies. Only universities, not impoverished students, were allowed to profit off athletic prowess, the NCAA maintained, and USC subsequently did not just erase Bush’s jersey from the Coliseum, but also any mention of him from the university record books.
Meanwhile, Simpson, who had been arrested multiple times for allegedly beating up the late Nicole before (allegedly) graduating to murder, remained in perfect standing with USC. It’s not just his jersey (and photograph) that USC proudly displays in the Coliseum; the university also spotlights Simpson’s jersey and Heisman on campus. (Perhaps it is a mere coincidence that USC, which has been under near-constant investigation by the federal government for violating Title IX, has had to shell out billions of dollars to women and girls sexually assaulted by university employees.)
Simpson may finally be meeting his maker, but his legacy — and USC’s proud embrace of it — lives on and beyond just his brand. Al Cowlings, Simpson’s fellow Trojan who infamously drove the newly widowed star in their getaway Bronco, bought his way back into the university’s good graces, paying a reported $15 million to get a shiny new dormitory named in his honor. Nothing makes a young girl feel safer on campus than heading to her bed in the Cowlings Residential College!
As recently as 2017, USC was affirmatively celebrating Cowlings and Simpson.
“USC recognizes O.J’s accomplishments as a football player,” said a university spokesman after the announcement of Cowlings’s indulgence. “What happened after USC is beyond our scope.”
