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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”
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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
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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
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