ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — The Buffalo Bills are leaving O.J. Simpson and his tarnished legacy behind, in making the move to their new stadium this season, chief operating officer Pete Guelli said on Saturday.
After the late Hall of Fame running back’s name remained on display on the Wall of Fame inside their now-former home, Guelli said there will be no mention of Simpson at their new stadium across the street.
“We have made an organizational decision that he is not a fit to display inside our new stadium and Family Circle,” Guelli said in statement released by the team.
Rather than duplicate their Wall of Fame, the Bills plan to honor their past by having their greats featured in a display in a large gathering area, called the “Family Circle,” in front of their new stadium.
Simpson’s name will not be included.
Though he set numerous team rushing records, and became the NFL’s first player to top 2,000 yards in a season during his nine-year career in Buffalo in the 1970s, Simpson’s reputation became forever stained by charges that he killed his former wife and her male friend in 1994.
Though acquitted of murder, Simpson was later found liable for the deaths in a separate civil case. Later, Simpson served nine years in prison after being convicted on unrelated charges.
Simpson was 76 when he died of prostate cancer in April 2024.
The Bills, under late-owner Ralph Wilson, had long ago distanced themselves from Simpson as a result of the murder charges. And the same applied after Terry and Kim Pegula purchased the franchise in 2014.
While Simpson would still occasionally attend Buffalo home games through personal connections, the team would not acknowledge his presence.
The Bills former stadium, called Highmark Stadium, is in the process of being demolished. The team, this past week, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to open its new $2.1 billion facility, also called Highmark Stadium.
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FILE - Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson (32) has his jersey pulled by Baltimore Colts linebacker Mike Curtis, during the second quarter of an NFL football game in Baltimore, Md., Oct. 12, 1975. (AP Photo/File)
FILE - O.J. Simpson sits at his arraignment in Superior Court in Los Angeles on July 22, 1994. (AP Photo/Pool/Lois Bernstein, Pool)
