O.J. Simpson, former NFL star whose murder trial gripped the nation, dies at 76

O.J. Simpson, the former NFL star who was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife and her friend in a televised trial that gripped the nation, has died of cancer, according to his family.

He was 76.

"He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren," the family said in a statement posted on X. "During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace."

Reports circulated in February that Simpson had been diagnosed with prostate cancer and was in hospice care as he underwent chemotherapy. He denied that he was in hospice in a video posted on X, but did not address whether or not he'd been diagnosed with cancer.

"Hospice? Hospice? You talking 'bout hospice?" he said in the video with a laugh, adding that he doesn't know who started the rumors. 

Orenthal James Simpson played 11 seasons in the National Football League, known as "The Juice" to his fans, but his sports legacy took a back seat in the 1990s after his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson was killed.

Nicole Brown Simpson, 35, and her friend Ronald Goldman, 25, were found stabbed to death outside her Los Angeles home in 1994.

On June 13, 1994, Goldman was returning sunglasses that the mother of Brown Simpson had left at a restaurant where he worked. The two were stabbed and slashed dozens of times and found the next day.

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When Los Angeles police officers went to Simpson's home to speak to him about the slayings, Simpson did not answer the door but officers noticed blood a trail of blood leading to his car, as well as blood on his car.

Once a revered athlete, Simpson went from a Hall of Fame icon to a murder suspect.

Days later, officials charged Simpson with the murders and he attempted to evade arrest, resulting in