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Pro Football Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson made a tone deaf 9/11 reference while discussing New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers' season-ending injury.
Simpson, 76, appeared on the It Is What It Is podcast alongside rappers Cam'ron and Mase and their co-host Treasure Wilson when he acknowledged that Rodgers' injury not only occurred four plays into his Jets regular season debut, but also on the same day as the biggest tragedy to ever hit New York City.
"Unfortunately, 9/11 is just a bad date from New York," Simpson said, which was met with hysterical laughter from the two Harlem native rappers.
Numerous Twitter users responded to the viral clip, which has more than 9 million views as of Thursday (September 14) morning, many of whom pointed out Simpson's infamous double-murder charge in relation to the deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman, which he was acquitted of during one of the most publicized trials in history, but found liable in a civil suit from the victims' families three years later.
The popular sports parody X account @BarryOnHere wrote, "You really hate to see legendary athletes ruin their great reputations," while re-sharing the video.
"No, I’m pretty sure the double murder was OJ’s low," wrote 105.9 The X host Mark Madden.
Simpson's 1995 murder trial and 2008 prison sentence for armed robbery and kidnapping has overshadowed a Hall of Fame football career, which he has unsuccessfully attempted to restore though his social media presence, launching his X account just over a year after being released from jail on parole.
Last month, Simpson shared a video in which he implied his prison sentence for kidnapping and armed robbery was harsher than the one given to former Las Vegas Raiders wide receiver Henry Ruggs III.
Simpson, who served the minimum nine years of a 33-year sentence, was convicted in Las Vegas, the same city where Ruggs, 24, was sentenced to between three and 10 years in prison in relation to a fatal DUI crash that killed a woman and her dog in November 2021.
“I know I went to college on a football scholarship but somehow this math is not adding up to me,” Simpson said of the disparity between the sentences. “You’re driving a car at roughly 160 MPH on a public street and end up killing a girl and her dog and you get three to ten years?”