The former NFL star OJ Simpson made a chilling 9/11 joke over the weekend while discussing the Achilles injury that prematurely ended the season of the New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
26 years ago today, O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of the murder of Nicole Simpson and Ron Goldman. pic.twitter.com/el1vAj7boI
— Miles Commodore (@miles_commodore) October 3, 2021
Simpson’s 9/11 Joke
“The Jets are still going to be good, and that kid [Zach Wilson] learned a lot from Aaron. Unfortunately, 9/11 is just a bad date for New York,” Simpson said while appearing on the “It Is What It Is” podcast just days after the 22nd anniversary of the terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people back in 2001.
“You’ve gotta play,” Simpson continued. “That’s the problem with not playing at all before you go out on the field. That wouldn’t have been a bad tackle. You have to get your body loose and you have to get some contact.”
The New York Post reported that Rodgers was injured in just the fourth play for the Jets of his career. He had made his debut for the Jets on September 11, exactly 22 years after 9/11.
Former #NFL RB OJ Simpson speaking about the Aaron Rodgers injury:
“9/11 is just a bad day for New York.”
This is a new low. pic.twitter.com/zWHvu2Ii5j
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) September 13, 2023
Related: O.J. Simpson Offers Trump Legal Advice After Indictment
Social Media Users Respond
Social media users were quick to slam Simpson for making this joke, according to OK! Magazine.
“Sometimes you get those people that just need to shut the F— up,” one user commented, with another adding, “That was ridiculously tone-deaf. It was asinine. There’s no way a player’s injury deserves the same breath as 9/11.”
“Yes, OJ Simpson saying ‘9/11 is just a bad day for New York’ is classless and tone deaf AF, but it’s not like he murdered two innocent people. Oh, right,” a third user commented, with a fourth writing, “If anyone knows anything about the murder of innocent human beings, it’s OJ Simpson.”
Those last two comments were a reference to the fact that many people believe that Simpson got away with murder after he was controversially found not guilty of the brutal killings of his wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Simpson later served nine years of a 33 year prison sentence after he was convicted of armed robbery in Las Vegas, Nevada back in 2007. He was released from prison in 2017, and he became “a completely free man” at the end of 2021, when he was released from parole for good behavior, according to NPR.
Nicole Simpson & Ron Goldman were murdered 29 years ago today on June 12, 1994. Hall of fame football player & Nicole’s ex-husband. O.J. Simpson would be arrested and go on trial and then found not guilty in what some call the trial of the century. pic.twitter.com/986Cxf1SOW
— Mark Weyermuller (@publicpolicyman) June 12, 2023
Related: Obama Says Trump Is For ‘White People What O.J.’s Acquittal Was To A Lot Of Black Folks’
Rodgers’ Injury
As for Rodgers, he’s saying that “anything is possible” when it comes to him potentially returning to the Jets this season.
“Give me the doubts. Give me the timetables. Give me all the things that you think can, should or would happen because all I need is that one extra little percent of inspiration. That’s all I need,” he said, according to Fox News. “Give me your doubts, give me your prognostications and then watch what I do.”
Rodgers described his injury as “one of the toughest 24-hour stretches in my life.”
“A lot of sadness, a lot of tears, a lot of frustration and anger,” he said. “A lot of the sadness initially was just feeling like I let so many people down.”
JUST IN: New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers takes the field with the American flag in hand on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
Good to see sports being used to unite instead of divide.
We need more of this
pic.twitter.com/zOkzrTseWZ
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) September 12, 2023
It’s unfortunate that Simpson felt the need to use Rodgers’ injury to make such a tasteless joke about 9/11. Given Simpson’s history, however, we can’t say that we’re surprised that he did this.
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