Introduction
On July 20, 2017, the Nevada Parole Board decided to reduce the prison term of a former American football player, one of the most successful athletes in this sport, O.J. Simpson. Simpson has been serving 33 years since 2008 for armed robbery; he was released on October 1st. Previously, Simpson was accused of killing his ex-wife and her boyfriend in 1994; the football player’s lawsuit has become the most media trial in US history. It is generally accepted that no other trial was covered by the American media in such detail – Simpson’s lawyers, prosecutors, and relatives of those killed became heroes of pop culture as a result of it. This paper will explore the impact O.J. Simpson’s case made on the American media and how it changed the racial discourse in the country.
Main Discussion
On June 12, 1994, O.J.’s ex-wife Nicole Brown-Simpson was murdered at her home along with Ron Goldman, whom she was dating. Nicole and her new lover were both White, while Simpson is a Black man. A bloody glove was found at the crime scene, and when the police decided to notify Simpson of the death of his wife, they found blood in the former athlete’s car. Moreover, a second glove was discovered at his house. The blood samples matched those of Simpson and Goldman’s ex-wife. Simpson was ordered to report to the police, but he tried to leave Los Angeles. The car was noticed, and a chase began for it, which the largest American television channels covered live, interrupting, for example, the broadcast of the NBA final match. The broadcast of the chase went to local television first and then switched to the national level. Even non-news channels joined the translation, while ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN shifted their broadcasting grids to cover the event. All this accounted for record ratings: almost a hundred million people watched the broadcast across the United States.
After O.J. Simpson was caught, and the trial began, it attracted the attention of the whole country. It discussed not only a specific crime, but also a whole range of issues that are painful for American society: such as racial stereotypes, celebrity impunity, or police bias towards Blacks. As a result, the jury found Simpson not guilty, although almost all the evidence indicated that it was he who murdered out of jealousy. The key moment in the case was the interrogation of Detective Mark Fuhrman, who was collecting evidence. He was accused of racism: Fuhrman attested that he never used the word “nigger” towards Black people, but his claims were refuted later, revealing his lies. Moreover, when asked by the judge whether the detective had any intention to fabricate evidence, Furman did not answer, citing the right not to testify against himself.
Most Americans were convinced that Simpson was guilty; many jurors thought so too, but they considered that the investigation had many violations and did not prove that O.J. truly committed the crime. According to The International Lawyer (2020), “firstly, the case highlighted the importance of race in how a jury judges evidence; secondly, there is now a better understanding of how race plays about implicit bias” (para. 9-10). Transitioning to racism was the perfect strategy for making Simpson a victim and blaming the case on abuse of power and hatred by a racist detective.
Thus, the trial caused heated debates followed by the whole country, and reinforced by a social factor, as the memories of the antiracism riots in Los Angeles were still fresh. Processions of the people of color became more frequent demanding the release of O.J. – they claimed that the police were too strict and biased towards Simpson. Others, however, demanded punishment to the fullest extent of the law: Simpson was a glorious NFL player, but merit in football could not justify murder. The acquittal was followed by 150 million Americans – that was more than half of the U.S. population in 1995. Moreover, the case and its impact went even beyond the borders of the country and was discussed by various foreign media.
After the trial, Simpson turned into a meme – a cultural icon on par with Star Trek or any other famous piece of media. For example, the well-known TV presenter Jay Leno did not joke about any celebrity as much as Simpson during his entire career on “The Tonight Show” from 1992 to 2014. Famous rappers Eminem and Jay-Z have referenced Simpson in their songs. His case was ridiculed by various comics, many movies and shows referred to Simpson – such as “The Simpsons.” Several documentaries and feature films have been made about the process itself; one of them, the eight-hour documentary O.J.: Made in America, won an Oscar in February 2017. Davidson (2019) states that “the trial was both the lowest moment for old-fashioned legacy media and also their last gasp of untrammeled relevance before the “World Wide Web” rewrote everybody’s story” (para. 2). After the trial of O.J. Simpson, it took years for athletes to regain the trust of public and sponsors. The reputation of sportsmen and women was tested by sponsors and teams, thus the late cases of football players Michael Vick and Aaron Hernandez resonated even more powerfully.
The Simpson case has added status to the at-the-time little-known businessman and lawyer Robert Kardashian, who was a close friend of O.J. The Kardashian surname become a trademark with all the media coverage and fame he had gotten as Simpson’s lawyer. In 2007, the reality show “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” appeared – a media springboard for the Kardashian sisters and their mother. Now, this family is said to define American and Western culture, and together the Kardashian mother and sisters break through hundreds of millions of followers on Instagram.
The ex-athlete himself was burdened by multimillion-dollar debts, from which he tried to escape from California to other states and for the sake of which he sold property and football awards. It was because of these awards and collectible sports symbols that O.J. was imprisoned for 33 years. In 2007, Simpson, along with accomplices, broke into the room of Bruce Fromong – a historical sports trophy dealer in Las Vegas – and took what, according to the former athlete, was stolen from him. Simpson pleaded only partially guilty, as he denied that he broke into the room and was armed. However, he was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to a long term with the right to parole after 9 years. At his parole hearing, Simpson claimed to have been a non-confrontational person all his life. The commission acknowledged that Simpson had reformed and allowed him to be released on October 1, 2017.
Conclusion
The trial of O.J. Simpson had an immense impact on American society in more than one way. Besides raising racial disputes and outlining the issue of police bias towards Blacks, it also influenced the way media covered such resonance cases. After this historical event, it became a media trend to broadcast and discuss celebrity trials in a live manner – the most notable examples are the lawsuits against Harvey Weinstein and the Depp v. Herd case. It can be said that O.J. Simpson’s trial became a turning point in how media covered and narrated such scandals, bringing various issues into the public view simultaneously, and not only the case itself.
References
Davidson, T. (2019). The O.J. Simpson case at 25. National Review. Web.
The International Lawyer. (2020). 25 years later, how the O.J. Simpson case has reshaped the law. The International Lawyer. Web.