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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 23, 1994)
mp O.J. Simpson human not hero should be treated as such If ^ Tell, it's been almost n week since the nrn-st of | w V O.J. Simpson for the I murders of his ex-wife Nicole 1 Brown Simpson and her friend i Ronald Goldman Like all great I American tragedies, this one has I left us with many unanswered I questions and con sequences jjy What would compel one of I the most well known athletes and i elehrities of all time to nun his life, the life of his children. and ultimately end the lives of i two inrux ent victims7 I Of course we all know that In is innocent until proven guiltv But is he really ? In effei t wasn't his trial ■ played out Friday night on national television for millions I to see7 After all. by not turning I himself in. O.J. didn't do much I to prove Ins innocent e People sat and watt hed on their couches In bars At work Millions of judges and juries watched as O.J. continued Ins trek of freedom Did anyone even consider the fact that maybe O.J may not he guilty? I'he evidence was laid out all nice and neat for people to < on vict O.J. There was the bloody glove that matched the one at the murder st one. There w as the witness that supposedly saw O.J.'s car at Nicole's house on the night of the murders. Then there was O.J.'s suspicious, quick exit to Chicago where hotel staff members discovered blood in his room. Don't get me wrong. I don't necessarily think that O.J is innocent. What I think does not matter. His guilt or innocence will ultimately be determined by a judge and jury in the city of l.os Angeles Yes. that's right. Los Angeles— the city thut couldn't convict the Menendez boys and couldn't handle the Rodney King trial. So never fear. O.J.'s in good hands Or was this a sporting event, complete with banner waving fans, cheering as "The Juice” WONDERLAND ' 5th STREET ft 1 C PUBLIC MARKET L VIDEO - - ,. 'G^5S 683-8464 VIDEO ADVENTURE WU(I RIVfn PlAiA MMI n*wwi.*#r» J ♦¥»»¥¥VVVVVVVVV* < m Roses $9.99 Phtifte <*dm wrkttac • IVrtren jviibbk ^finufe/iou * U>VM HS \S|> I ,|| ! s Ikfc t*fr*r .Or r«l • 4*M*92 rid < h*#i&rrv E*fr*r. Or T*QJ . |’* % take Kaplan and get a higher score... 4 ■<_ * _► More students taKe Kaplan's courses every year than any other test prep company's Call us today to hnd out why 345-4420 720 E. 13th, Eugene made one Inst dash toward the goal line? Did these people real ize that they were cheering on an armed fugitive of the law? They're lucky they syere not injured in the incident This wasn't number U run ning down the sidelines on a i hilly Buffalo Sunday This was a desperate man. < ontemplating taking his own life Do we really believe that O | I ared that peo ple held lip signs like Save Hie juice"? Somehoyy I think that O | had better things to worry about at the time KSf’N seemed to think that this was some sort of twisted sporting event While their cov erage of () I s chase rolled on. KSPN periodically ran updates of “important" scores in the yvorld of sports, just as they would it "Motor World" or "Speed Week were on NIK lias a similar philosophy Unfortunately for NBU. () | del ided to take America along with him on his little joy ride during game 5 of the NBA Finals NBC had to make a dei c sum how to handle covering the pivotal game 5 and perhaps the biggest breaking story in the last decade What did NIK do? They did what they thought every sports fan would want. They covered both In some areas of the country, they showed both at the same time While ()| cruised along 1-5 with longtime friend Al Cowlings and his white Bronco, I’atrii k Fw mg and Hakeem Olajuwon battled it out on n box in the lower corner of the si reen Now that's lei h oology As one might expect, reai lion to the whole situation has been varied. Reactions range from the longtime friends and fans who simply refuse to believe that () | Simpson is capable of commit ting sut h a hideous crime to cynics who just sit back and marvel at the (lure entertain ment value of the ordeal, rest lesslv waiting for the Thursday, 6/23 $© BUTCH LUCKY DOLLAR 99 guests Friday, 6/24 $© alcohol FUNNYCAR THE DIRT FISHERMEN JASPER Saturday, 6/25 $© A record release party tor DOSE with FIVE-EIGHT guests Sunday, 6/26 8pm STEVE JAMES AND TERRY ROBB Monday, 6/27 $© THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT JUNG LOVE MARTINSVILLE Musi be ©O or over ( hris.Mh/ made for-IV movie to come out. For mo. the day () I Simpson was arrested for double murder will forever be etched in my mind Along with the space shuttle disaster, the Berlin Wall (irami(! down, and Magic John son's revelation that he had i on trai ted the HIV virus, this will he something that I will always remember This is one of those things that in ^t) years when someone asks you where you were when () J went down, you could immediately answer Me’ I was warming up at a softball game when ()J was finally arrested 1 was drinking grape Kool Aid on a sofa in South Dakota w hen Magii John son held his news conference with his shocking news As a sports fan I con remem ber many special events I remember "The Catch” as Dwight Clark leaped for Joe Montana's miraculous pass m the end zone to defeat the Dallas Cowboys in the 1>I82 NFC Championship game I remember Bill Bui kner let ting Mookie Wilson's creeping ground ball leak through his legs as Kay Knight rac ed home. gi\ mg the New York Mets new life and eventually the 1‘iHt; World Series Championship These are just some of the many sports memories that I cherish They an- just that sports memories VVhat happened last week is not to ho mistaken for sports O I Simpson is no longer an ath lete fins is no longer a sporting matter It seems very odd then to see (it«iip11* sympathizing with an accused killer like this Would wt> all lx* so quit k to sup port him if hi* was a mechanic from f lint Mu higan‘' Amerii a s romance with its horns tnnds to severely i laud its judgment Win should <)| Simpson be treated differently because he was perhaps the greatest running back of all time' Why should lie lei treated differently hei ause he hurdled rows of seats in < ar rental i om inert aals' If society learns one tiling from tins tragedy , let us hope that it is a (letter sense of what is real and yvhnt isn't People see i elehrities on tele vision and immediately assume that they knovy something about that person Hot k. I ll lx* the first to admit th.it () | seemed like a nice enough guy from yvliat I had seen on television I lie t.u t is that we know close to nothing about the real people behind the personality that we sis- at home on the si reen Having () | -. final stand played out live on national tele vision further complicates the matter While there tends to he a feeling that everything on I V is real, the i base came ui ross as a special edition oK'ops in /.os .-Inge/es I he one thing that O | didn't want was puhlii humiliu lion He urged us to remember the real () | and not tins lost person Whoops ()| probably shouldn't have tried to make a run for it if he w as so concerned about maintaining Ins puhlii opinion ratings It is fine to remember the old () ] He provided us with some great memories while running for I S( and later for the Buffalo Hills It could In* argued that he was tfie biggest i elehrilv ot the 1970's This iiemg said, it is now time to turn the page in the way we view () | Simpson, the per son. He is obviously a troubled mnu Cireat athletes are allowed to have actual human amotions and problems It is part of the human condition People forget that athletes and i elebrities have actual lives One tlnng that disturbs me is the i allnusness with which some people treat an int ident such as this As soon as the storv broke, one of the hottest topic s on sports call-in shows was whether or not Simpson should be allowed to remain in the Foot hat I Hull of Kant e if he should lie i onvii ted Is this really what we need to lie dist ussing in the fat e of silt h a tragedy' Do wr really think () I t ares if he is in the hall of fame at this point' Is the hall of fame so important tfi.it we need to allow n murderer to Imj a member, based on what he did on a football field I personally don't i are if () | is in the halt of fame or not I'he hull oi fame is a plai e where great players are honored for their tremendous ai hievements on the field It is by no means a marker for great human beings I here is no hall of fame for great people If there yvas, O | wouldn't be inducted He prob ably gave up that right in IH89 when he physic ally haltered Nit ole Itroyy n Simpson Arguing about xvhether or not () I should lx- allowed to remain in the hall of fame if be is guilty uf this i rime is like a heart attack victim worrying about an ingrown toenail It simply does not matter It is a triv ial element in an extremely complex and tragic issue Whether you think () | Simp son is guilty of tins i rime or not. it is important to rememlier that he is a human luting first, ami a famous ex athlete and pile liman sei nnd Nu banners are mu es surv No trailing i arils need tn be issued l et's just treat tills one as if he were a human being Chris Mrt/ n ill hr 1 hr Kmer ald sports rilihtr full trim WATERCOLOR Wlroof A Newton 8m I Cotman Watercolors Brushes'^' Selected Wintof & Newton. 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