The Buffalo Bills have decided that former Hall of Fame running back O.J. Simpson will not be recognized among the franchise’s legends at the team’s new Highmark Stadium.
According to ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg, Bills president of business operations Pete Guelli said Simpson was intentionally left out of the stadium’s new Family Circle, an area designed to celebrate the history and greatest figures in franchise history.
“He’s obviously a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He’s a member of our Wall of Fame. But we made the decision that he would not be a part of the new stadium,” Guelli said.
Simpson remains one of the most accomplished players in Bills history. Selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1969 NFL Draft, he became the first player in NFL history to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a 14-game season, accomplishing the feat in 1973. During his nine seasons in Buffalo, Simpson earned five First-Team All-Pro selections, six Pro Bowl appearances, and the 1973 NFL MVP award before finishing his career with the San Francisco 49ers.
Despite those accomplishments, Simpson’s legacy has long been overshadowed by his highly publicized legal troubles. He was acquitted in the 1995 criminal trial surrounding the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman but was later found liable for their deaths in a 1997 civil trial. In 2008, Simpson was convicted, for allegedly stealing his own memorabilia. in an armed robbery case in Las Vegas and served nine years in prison before being granted parole in 2017.
The Bills’ decision means Simpson will be the only member of the franchise’s former Wall of Fame not included in the new stadium’s permanent tribute to team legends.
While his place in professional football history remains secure through his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Buffalo has opted to move forward without featuring one of the most decorated—and controversial—players ever to wear a Bills uniform.
Story features reporting from ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg.
