Oj simpson, one of the most controversial people six. Were going to look back at his life, his murder trial, and how it changed the nation and the fight over fisa, the battle over the controversial surveillance program, threatening speaker Mike Johnsons short tenure at the helm of the house. Were falling following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to Cnn News Central the breaking news today, oj simpson is dead at 76 after losing his battle to cancer, according to social media posts by his family, he was a celebrated Football Star. He won the Heisman Trophy and college. He then transition into acting as a pitch man who was then later accused standard acquitted, and the Double Murder Trial of his exwife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman simpson gripped the nation after taking police on that slow Speed Police Chase scene here. And of course, the highprofile trial that followed his eventual acquittal becoming a Landmark Moment In Eric in history. Lets get to cnn. Stephanie elam, who is in los angeles where all of this happened to this day, stephanie oj simpsons name brings out strong feelings for many people thats very true. Brianna and boras, when you take a look at oj simpson, he was a superstar amongst superstars. And if you wrote this out as a script, no one would believe that this was one persons life. But indeed, it was oj simpsons oj simpson sort of fame as number 32 for the buffalo bills. Im sorry. And plummeted to infamy as Inmate Number 102, 7820 in the Nevada Department of corrections inbetween, simpson lead a life filled with more surreal drama than all of his various film and tv projects combined Mass Media Experts say simpsons sensational, televised, low speed chase arrest and murder trial doesnt fit you must acquit stand as the first reality show and perhaps the greatest three Ring Television Phenomenon ever at one point, the world herc oj simpsons exwife, Nicole Brown Simpson say, i dont want to stay on the line is going to be then later, simpson was charged with the horrific murders by knife of nicole and her friend ron goldman. Ron and nicole were what shirt the trial made lawyers and even witnesses, Household Names are on file. James simpson, not guilty of the crime of murder. When the jury freed simpson, celebration erupted in parts of los angeles. But simpson would never recapture his idol status simpson first, brennan into the National Spotlight as the Heisman Trophy winning running back at the university of Southern Californi then 11 spectacular years wi the nfl vaulted him to the pro football hall of fame. Simpson cashed in on the popularity becoming a good man for hertz and an actor, becoming wellknown for the naked gun, moodys own, j simpson, as youve never seen them before, simpson played a lawmen on screen and ran into trouble with the courts offscreen he lost the multimilliondollar wrongful death suit brought by the families of his exwife and ron goldman then moved to florida in 2000. Simpson was accused of assault and a Road Rage Incident in miami. He was found not guilty and 2005 he was found guilty and fined for stealing Satellite Television than in 2007 in Las Vegas Police arrested him on several felony charges, including kidnapping and Armed Robbery in that case, simpson and Armed Accomplices Rate at a hotel room. And what he called an attempt to just get back some of his stolen belongings and i didnt know i was doing anything illegal. I thought i was confronting friends. In retrieving my property the nevada jury never bought his story and instead sent him to prison. He was released on parole nine years later in the dead of night with no fanfare and no bright future, just the distinction of arguably the greatest Rise And Fall in Pop Culture History and its important to keep in mind the context of what was happening in la in the 90s, it was a very compet us time here in the city where you had the Rodney King Beating and 91 and right after that, the acquittal of all four of the officers, and that led to the loss its angeles riots. And then shortly thereafter, a couple of years later, then you have oj simpson trial. And then as acquittal. So while a lot of black people didnt really care about oj simpson in particular. They were happy to see that the trial that this Justice System could sometimes work in their favor. So you saw some cheering at that time, but its also worth noting some of the people whove spoken out about ojays just simpsons passing, including what who was known as the most Famous House Guest ever keto kaelyn, who at the time of the murders was staying as a house guest and oj simpsons home. He has put out a statement. Lets take a listen ive been asked to comment on the death of oj simpson foremost, id like to express my condolences to the children, to sydney and justin, to jason and arnel they lost their father and that is never easy. I wish to express my love and compassion to the goldmans, to fred into kim i hope you find closure and finally to the family of the beautiful Nicole Brown Simpson maybe we always cherish her memories nicole was a beacon of light that burden bright may we never forget her and brianna and boris, you may remember everyone was hanging on every word when cato kaylin was testifying during that murder trial, he became one of the most famous people from that trial who was not directly a part of it, but still everyone wanted to know what he knew at the time yeah, certainly everyone remembers keto, kaitlyn stephanie. Thank you so much for bringing that to us. We do appreciate it. And before simpson became the centerpiece in arguably the most highprofile trial in history. He was one of the greatest Football Players to ever set foot on the grid iron lets expand the conversation out with former nfl player and host for draftkings network, mike go luck mike, thanks so much for being with us your reaction to the news of ojays passing . I mean, this was this all went on, right in the wheelhouse of the end of my Football Career in the beginning of my broadcast in career 1993, i was playing for the dolphins and he actually was a Sideline Reporter for a couple of our games that year in just months later, obviously in june of 94, we all no what happened and how this started. And by that point, i was still trying to play in the nfl, but my career was about over and 95 i started in a broadcasting career, which included radio. So this was the big thing to be covered as the trial started going from january or im sorry, november of 94 and october 95. So i saw it from the Football Side and i saw it from the Broadcasting Side and talking about and in this was this was just a surreal experience for all of us in that era, knowing what a football grew, Grateful Ballplayer he was. And then just being floored by the situation going on and then how it escalated yeah. I mean i think everyone was certainly mike. I want to bring in cnn contributor bob costas to the conversation now and bob, you and your network, were broadcasting the nba final as that bronco chase was playing out, which just set up this extraordinary splitscreen moment for millions of viewers. What do you remember about that time well, every network including cnn and all the mainstream networks that preceded cables, cbs, abc, theyre all carrying it with aerial views from the helicopters and trying to cover it as best they can. But dick ebersol sall, who ran nbc sports, had a dilemma because it wasnt just a basketball game, it was the nba finals. And as i recall, the series was tied to games a piece and it was a close game at Madison Square garden. And so various times, i threw it between marv albert is calling the game, they would come to me upstairs at the garden id throw it to tom broca. He would do a summation at other times, wed have the splitscreen, as you mentioned, half the screen, the game and have the screen, the bronco chase. And another factor here is that many of us involved for nbc sports had known and been very friendly with oj. He and i worked on the Football Show for nbc for four or five years, beginning in the early 90s and up until that point. And then subsequently, not that night, but not long after i learned that oj for whatever reason, was trying to call me from the bronco i didnt have a cell phone at that time. Those who know me know that im behind the technological curve at a flip phone until about three or four years ago. And this was the early days of cell phones. But he had a carphone. So he calls my house in st. Louis and i wasnt there. I was in new york. Nobody the answer the phone. And eventually he called the studio where we did the nfl show from, which was also where we did the nba show from. But on this occasion, since it was the finals, we were at Madison Square garden and the phone rang and rang, apparently tried it a few times and an engineer eventually answered the phone and he said, i need to speak to bob costas. Hes not here well, i got to speak to him right away. Hes not here. Whos calling oj simpson . You rightclick. He hung up. Now, i dont know any of this on that friday night, the series Proceeds To Houston and on monday before theyre going to play game seven, a couple of days later, im in in the hotel and a woman from Time Magazine calls me and says, we hear that oj tried to call you from the bronco. And i say truthfully at the time, no, that didnt happen. The conversation last less than a minute. Now, fast forward from june to november of 74 and at his request, i go to visit oj in the la county jail. This is prior to the trial which didnt start until january. And in the course of some awkward kind of small talk conversation and al callings who was driving the bronco that night was there with me along with Robert Kardashian. It was the three of us talking with oj and al callings just kind of casually brings up we tried to call you from the back of the bronco and dow, i remember the call from the woman at Time Magazine and we begin talking about this. So they said oj, why would you be trying to reach me in that moment and he said, i was being defamed not so much about the alleged murderers, but my whole life was being defamed and i thought that maybe you could give a different viewpoint as my friend and i didnt bother to explain to him what the journalistic imperatives would have been at that time and what i would have had to have asked him if somehow we were patched through if he was willing to go on the air rather than just talk to me privately. But obviously thats all good point because it never happened baba, i mean i have to ask, what would you have asked oj simpson at that moment that he called you from the bronco if he was able to reach it . Yeah. I think the first thing you have to ask, boris as delicately, but still directly as possible. Oj did you do it . And then lets assume he says no, i couldnt possibly have done this well, Oj The Letter that you wrote to Robert Kardashian that was read by the Police Officials when they declared you a fugitive . If of justice who writes a letter like that seemingly a suicide note. If theyre an innocent man with the kind of where with all that you have to defend yourself and the standing you have Good Standing with the American Public prior to this and what are you doing with a gun to your head in the back of the bronco, if in fact youre an innocent man these things dont add up and whatever his response to that was would have been what it was. And then i would have done in my own way, i guess it would have tried to do what tom lange meyer, who i thought was heroic in his role as a policeman, you played the audio earlier on cnn, in the way he calmly and compassionately tried to talk oj out of doing what he apparently was on the verge of doing, which was killing himself. I would have had to have kind of try to do the same thing. So oj, whatever it is, youll have a chance to mount a defense. Put the gun down think of your Family Surrender peacefully and take it from there yeah unbelievable story. By the way, bob and mike, i mean, i wonder when you look back to thinking of that Note Thinking of what we heard oj say, what we know from the transcript of the bronco, and then the outcome of the case whatever the outcome of the case was, what you think about what it does to his legacy. Because as he was saying to bob, there, i would have wanted you basically to speak positively of me. Maybe lacking some awareness of what Something Like this does to someones legacy even if they built such an amazing one in sports well, bob had an unbelievable seat, the close to that scene as he just said, thats an incredible story. But now being in the media and doing radio and tv, as i was, and the sports icon that oj simpson was. This just brought it into our world. And you couldnt watch all of this from from the white bronco to the trial and not have an opinion. My opinion was and still is. I think he did it and i think a lot of People Fairly did is going through just what bob said. Why would you write a no, why would you potentially be trying to kill yourself . So i think thats where even though he got acquitted could we know we lost a civil suit so i think that was the big thing. It was it was a riveting time for everybody to say, how can this guy in our world when were just so used to talking about what a great player he was. And then went into the broadcasting the way he and now this but everything pointed toward it. I mean, i know there were those who said that, hey, he got acquitted, so hes innocent of it and didnt do it. But we all hold our opinion and i know a lot of people, especially in social media today, were saying, hey, lets let the man rest in peace with his family and not bring up everything that happened which thats an impossibility gang. I mean, you cant bring up oj simpson without bringing up this situation and then the robbery and vegas 40 eventually went to jail for its part and parcel of oj simpsons legacy, both on the field and off the entire trajectory of his life is just insane when you think about the heights that he reached and then the lowest of lows my gulec bob costas quite a fascinating Vantage Point to history. Thanks for being with us thank you. Of course still ahead on cnn, were going to speak to the Helicopter Pilot who brought this infamous bronco chase to america. A moment that was watched by nearly 100 million people. Zoe turn joins us in just a moment. Ts special to ouritanic premiere of how it really happened. 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