In the summer of 1994, the sports world held its breath. It wasn’t a big final, it wasn’t a gripping fight that captivated the audience, but one of the darkest chapters in US sports history – to be seen live on TV. OJ Simpson, one of the biggest sports stars of the ’70s, fled the police in front of 100 million viewers.
June 17, 1994 was actually reserved for the basketball stars of the NBA. That night saw the fifth game in the finals series between the Houston Rockets and the New York Knicks. It should provide the answer to the question of who would follow in the footsteps of Michael Jordan, who announced his retirement a year earlier.
6:39 minutes before the end of the first half, the nationwide broadcaster “NBC” wanted to switch to the advertisement to match the time-out. But it did not get to that. Instead, there was a hard cut. A white Ford Bronco was suddenly seen making its way down a Los Angeles highway.
There was no stranger at the wheel. OJ Simpson was driving the car. A former NFL star, Heisman Trophy winner (1968), six-time All-Star and ex-MVP (1972). Thanks to his role as Detective Nordberg in “The Naked Gun”, Simpson also became famous in Germany. Now, in front of tens of millions of viewers, the Californian had involuntarily taken on a leading role for which no happy ending was intended.
Urgent questions and shocking answers
“We are viewing live footage from Interstate 405 in Los Angeles. We believe this white car being pursued by a phalanx of California Highway Patrol cars and helicopters belongs to Al Cowlings, who disappeared today with OJ Simpson,” directed Host Pete Gustafson enters the Breaking News.
It was the prelude to one of the most dramatic moments in American sports history.
OJ Simpson flees from the police
But what actually happened? How did a formerly celebrated sports star become the focus of the police? And why was he chasing more than a dozen officers live on TV? And why the hell didn’t they just stop the white Ford? Hardly a viewer knew the shocking answers. You should know about them in the hour to come.
Overwhelming Evidence Against OJ Simpson
A few days before the dramatic scenes that now took place on the highway, a horrific crime in LA made headlines. Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole and her partner Ron Goldman were found brutally murdered on June 13. At the crime scene, forensics found a bloodstained glove. The investigators also discovered its matching counterpart a little later – it was on the property of OJ Simpson’s private home.
This and other overwhelming evidence led to an arrest warrant for Simpson. He was to be executed on June 17th. But the ex-football star, who had previously left a kind of farewell letter with his lawyer, had disappeared. The police search began.
Simpson was quickly located. He had borrowed the car from his friend Al Cowlings and was driving through Los Angeles. Within minutes, helicopters were circling above the white Ford Bronco, and a little later OJ saw most of the Highway Patrol in the rearview mirror.
Simpson threatens suicide
The police contacted Simpson via car phone. Officer Tom Lange spoke gently to the murder suspect, begging him not to do anything stupid. Meanwhile, the distraught Simpson repeatedly threatened suicide with a gun pointed at himself and protested his innocence. He just wanted to go home, the fallen superstar emphasized in a tearful voice.
The police granted Simpson what may be his last wish and let him drive him to his private estate. Snipers were already waiting there for the former NFL icon. They weren’t used. Simpson gave up. The ex-star accused of double murder allowed himself to be arrested without resistance and was brought to justice.
OJ Simpson was convicted in 2007
For the investigators involved, it was unthinkable that OJ would be released again. The evidence was too overwhelming, the facts too clear.
Acquittal in the “trial of the century”
The “trial of the century” that followed made waves. A biased and unqualified jury, fabricated evidence, accusations of racism and failures in the police investigation had been in the headlines almost daily. In the eyes of many, the question of guilt in a double murder case had long since become a side issue. Around 100 million people watched the verdict on October 3, 1995 live on television.
In the end, Simpson was acquitted and released from prison. The civil process that followed was also mild for the former football star. He was sentenced to pay $33 million in fines to the victims’ families, but only a fraction of that amount has been paid to date.
Simpson sentenced to 33 years in prison
A decade passed before Simpsons had to appear in court again. In 2007, he and a group of men robbed a sports souvenir retailer in Las Vegas. Simpson claimed someone had previously stolen them from him. The court did not believe him and sentenced him to 33 years in prison. On October 1, 2017, the then 70-year-old was released early on parole.
Simpson is slowly but surely venturing back into the limelight. In June 2019 he opened an account with the short message service Twitter. To date, almost 900,000 subscribers follow him there. Interest in the fallen legend is unbroken. But the user comments also show that the doubts about his innocence have not been dispelled even 28 years after the crime.
Christian Schenzel