Former NBC reporter Bob Costas breaks down O.J. Simpson's 'complicated legacy' as 1995 murder trial brought on media defamation
Former NFL running back O.J. Simpson passed away on April 10 after a battle with cancer.
Simpson's legacy is one many are torn on due to the murder trial of the killing of his ex-wife. Although Simpson was never convicted of the crime, the public thinks he did murder his ex-wife.
With that, legendary sports broadcaster Bob Costas spoke about Simpson's legacy and admitted it is hard to reflect on:
"Well, it's a complicated legacy. To put it mildly, I can't think of anyone historical or someone that we may have known, where the first chapter and the second chapter of their lives are such a stark contrast ... What I'm about to say doesn't mitigate the crime that he quite obviously committed. But at the time, he was the sort of guy who would remember the name of the kid who brought you the newspapers and coffee, when you first got to the set in the morning on Sunday to cover football, he was accommodating to every fan who came up to him. He was very good company," Costas said to Today on Friday.
"It's impossible to even postulate that anyone other than OJ Simpson committed these crimes, but the evidence, both circumstantial and hard evidence is overwhelming, and there is no other explanation."
Although Costas says Simpson was nice to every fan, some people still didn't like him due to the crimes, even though the verdict was that he was innocent.
Simpson did have a legendary NFL career as he was the league MVP in 1973 and five-time Pro Bowler.
O.J. Simpson sought out Bob Costas to help with media defamation
Following the murder trial, OJ Simpson claims he was getting defamed as a character by the media. Due to that, Costas reveals Simpson sought his help. However, Costa wanted to do an interview publicly with him, in which he says he would have had to ask very serious questions.
"What I didn't bother to tell him since it was a moot point was that if he had gotten through to me, and if he had agreed to go on the air, then I would have had to ask him some very pointed questions," Costas said.
Ultimately, the interview never happened, and whether it would have helped change the public's perception of Simpson is unclear.
Simpson died at age 76 on Thursday following a battle with prostate cancer. The public perception will continue to be divided, with some convinced of his guilt in the death of his ex-wife, while others maintain faith in the court's verdict.