As the Buffalo Bills prepare to make the move to the new Highmark Stadium after over 50 years at Ralph Wilson Stadium, the team announced that runningback O.J. Simpson will not be honored on any displays or tributes at the new venue.
“We have made an organizational decision that he is not a fit to display inside our new stadium and family circle,” Bills president of business operations Pete Guelli said in a statement.
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The Bills plan to honor franchise icons at a family circle area just outside the new stadium, with their names displayed alongside some informative history about the team.
Simpson was the first member inducted into the team’s Wall of Fame in 1980 and his name was displayed in the old stadium ever since, but the team has decided not to display it in any way at the new one.
In 1994, Simpson was charged with the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. The case quickly became a worldwide story that garnered as much attention as any single court case in sports history.
He was ultimately found not guilty in 1995, but was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages to the Brown and Goldman families in a civil court case two years later.
Simpson was drafted by the Bills with the top pick in the 1969 draft and he remained there for nine of his 11 seasons in the NFL. In 1973, he took home the MVP trophy after becoming the first player in league history to reach 2,000 rushing yards in a season.
He has remained in the Pro Football Hall of Fame since his induction in 1985.
When he died of cancer in April 2024, the Bills did not release a statement or acknowledge his death.
James Parker is a sports writer for Ball Exclusives, follow him on X @TheJames_Parker
