O.J. Simpson holds forth on Trump, anthem protests
O.J. Simpson, at times the most famous man in America for two very different reasons, has given his first substantial interview since being released from prison in October.
Simpson agreed to an interview with the Buffalo News, the home paper of Simpson’s onetime NFL team, with the condition that it would focus on football and not, as Simpson called it, “all that L.A. crap” — the way Simpson dismisses the entire cavalcade that surrounded the murder of his ex-wife and a friend, including two trials that captivated the nation in the mid-1990s. But Simpson didn’t adhere to his own rules, veering off-topic to discuss everything from Donald Trump to NFL protests. A few highlights from the interview, which is well worth a full read:
On Donald Trump: “The one thing I can say about The Donald is The Donald is fun,” Simpson said, speaking of the possibility that Trump could have bought the Buffalo Bills. “Well, for a dude — and I consider myself a dude — Donald is a man’s man. He would be a fun guy. But that’s hanging out. … If the Bills weren’t winning, [having Trump as an owner] would have been tough.”
Trump and Simpson played golf together in the early 1990s, and Simpson attended Trump’s second wedding. Trump initially defended Simpson in the wake of the Brentwood murders, but has since backed away from his onetime golf mate. “Somebody asked me if I’d have voted for him,” Simpson said. “Probably not, but I only know two of my friends I’d vote to be president. Some of my best, best besties I would not vote to be president. That has no bearing on it, you know?”
On Colin Kaepernick and the NFL protests: “I think Colin made a mistake,” Simpson said. “I really appreciate what he was trying to say. I thought he made a bad choice in attacking the flag. I grew up at a time when deacons were in the KKK. I don’t disrespect the Bible because of those guys. The flag shouldn’t be disrespected because of what cops do. The flag represents what we want America to be.”
To Simpson, Kaepernick pushed his luck. “When he did it the first time,” Simpson said, “I thought, ‘Well, you took a gamble, and I give you credit.’ But it was him continuing to do it where he made the biggest mistake. I’m a firm believer of doing what you think is right, but I would always stand for the flag.”
Simpson said that as soon as his parole allows, he will return to Buffalo to see a Bills game, but he won’t ask to be a guest of the team. He’s just hoping that the world will remember that he used to be a pretty decent football player, too.
“Anybody that saw me play will remember me as a football player,” Simpson said. “I like to think I played the game with a lot of passion and love.”
The full interview is well worth a read. Clearly, O.J.’s story isn’t quite done yet.
____
Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.
More from Yahoo Sports:
• After upset of Arizona, Obama gets called out
• Texas Tech’s ferocious 360 alley-oop dunk was just silly
• Rob Gray will never buy a drink in Houston again
• What’s standing between Sooners prospect and the NBA? His dad
