The Buffalo Bills will not include O.J. Simpson in honors at their new Highmark Stadium, the team confirmed. A spokesperson for the Bills stated that the former running back is "not a fit to display inside our new stadium and family circle."
The family circle area is designed to feature American bison statues and plaques honoring past team greats. Simpson, who played nine of his 11 NFL seasons with the Bills, was previously kept in his place at the team's former stadium in Orchard Park.
Simpson, who died in April at age 76, led the league in rushing four times and surpassed 2,000 yards in the 1973 season. His NFL Hall of Fame career has been largely overshadowed by the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Although acquitted of criminal charges in the high-profile trial, Simpson was found liable for their deaths in a subsequent civil trial and ordered to pay $33.5 million to the victims' families.
He later served nine years in prison for a 2007 robbery and kidnapping conviction in Las Vegas, stemming from an incident where he confronted memorabilia dealers. Simpson was released from prison in November 2017 and maintained his innocence in the murder case until his death.
The Bills are set to play their first regular season game at Highmark Stadium on September 17 against the Detroit Lions.