the most controversial man in the U.S.

[primetime]

i dont want this post to drag into a lot of arguments, i just want to hear thoughts on a certain news event in sports. it has to do with everyone's "favorite" celebrity, OJ Simpson. if you havent heard, OJ went to the USC practice in Florida. this caused of course great controversy, but here are my thoughts.

first, i will not mention whether i think OJ killed Nicole and Ron or not. what i think doesnt matter anyway. and if you look at it, no matter what you think, you have to admit, the prosecution did a poor job trying him and that is why they lost. there was a lot of reasonable doubt and THAT is why he was acquitted. anyway, about his appearance. i think it is okay. why? even if i think he is a murderer or not, the man is simply visiting his favorite college football team, his alma mater, USC. he was a great Trojan player. he was invited to see the team. he didnt ask to go to the practice, he didnt hang around and demand he speak with the team, he was invited. he does have a right to enjoy himself. he knows people hate him. he knows he is a walking controversy, but for people to got outraged by him speaking with the team, they need to relax. he wasnt there telling everyone he is innocent. he was there to talk about his "glory" days and winning the Heisman. the players who greeted him warmly should be looked at as humans. they didnt judge him. they didnt treat him with disrespect. they treated him like a human being. remember, NO ONE knows who really killed Nicole or Ron. it is a matter of opinion. should the USC players treat OJ like sh*t just because the majority of the people in the US dont like him? no. they have their own opinions and should be respected for that. his visit was NOT about his guilt or innocence. it was about his love for USC football.

again, i dont want this thread to evolve into a "he killed her or he didnt" type thread. just give me your thoughts if OJ should have or should not have visited the USC football team.

 

[amk714]

I have no problem with O.J. visiting the team. Frankly, I don't care what he or any other celebrity does. The rich and famous have nothing to do with me, and I with them.

 

[kurchatovium]

If USC wants him they have can have him. Personally I wouldn't want to be within a football field length of him, but thats just my opinion.

 

[JoBelle]

There is an old saying that says something like:

You are judged by the company you keep. That being said, if the members of the team, the coaches or anyone else desires to have in their presense a man that was found Not Guilty of murder, then so be it. They must, however, recall that public opinion of the man based on his behavior, flight, past husbandly attitude, etc...etc...etc...will also be associated with the USC team. Whether they like it or not.

Debate someone's merits all you like. Don't be surprised when you choose to be associated with them, their lack of pride, their poor reputation, and their needs and you see them becoming your own. (Perhaps only in the eyes of others, but you have become part of the same.) WHETHER YOU WANT THEM OR NOT!

Choose your friends and in this case your celebrity visitors wisely.
Joby

 

[BettyBoop2002]

There is an old saying that says something like:

You are judged by the company you keep. That being said, if the members of the team, the coaches or anyone else desires to have in their presense a man that was found Not Guilty of murder, then so be it. They must, however, recall that public opinion of the man based on his behavior, flight, past husbandly attitude, etc...etc...etc...will also be associated with the USC team. Whether they like it or not.

Debate someone's merits all you like. Don't be surprised when you choose to be associated with them, their lack of pride, their poor reputation, and their needs and you see them becoming your own. (Perhaps only in the eyes of others, but you have become part of the same.) WHETHER YOU WANT THEM OR NOT!

Choose your friends and in this case your celebrity visitors wisely.
Joby

Bravo! Well said, I couldn't have said it better if I tried!
My Mother and GrandMother always taught me you are know by the company you keep, so true! I agree with Joby

 

[tk86]

a few facts are in order here

Before we all start condemning the USC players for "welcoming" O.J. Simpson to their practice this week, I would recommend reading this story by Diane Pucin in the 12/30/02 L.A. Times. She did her homework, and hit the nail on the head in my opinon. Hope this link works; if not just go to latimes.com and search under diane pucin simpson.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-pucin30dec30.story

 

[kurchatovium]

I think you summed it up nicely Joby and BettyBoop my mother taught me the same thing.

 

[kurchatovium]

You have to register to view the files on the latimes website. So I doubt anyone will be able to read it.

 

[tk86]

Yes, you do have to register, but that's no big deal in this case. It certainly doesn't cost anything. I'm registered and they never send me spam.

 

[kurchatovium]

Living in Los Angeles they bug me on the phone all the time to get their stupid newspaper so I think I'd rather not trust them with my email address as well. Perhaps you could summarize it in a few words.

 

[amk714]

Here's the article...

Diane Pucin:
Simpson Has No Place in This Family Practice

DAVIE, Fla. -- It wasn't a premeditated decision, welcoming O.J. Simpson to USC's Orange Bowl practice Saturday.

It wasn't that Simpson was invited by the coaches or athletic officials. It was a "unique situation," Coach Pete Carroll said, a clash of the family that welcomed back a football star and a university that might wish its star who was accused of a double murder chose to stay away.

What could we have done? USC Athletic Director Mike Garrett said. "Frankly, something happened beyond our control," he said. "It wasn't planned. I feel our players and coaches handled the situation properly."

Could Simpson have been kept away from a public practice where one and all were allowed to watch? Maybe not. Should he have been given a chance to address the team in the locker room after practice Saturday? Absolutely not.

Should USC players have been placed in a situation where they could either be polite to Simpson or turn their backs? One of the pleasures of watching this Trojan team is that the players are so respectful, well-spoken and willing to answer questions, sign autographs and do interviews.

It was not Carson Palmer's inclination to turn away from Simpson. It is never Palmer's nature to be rude. So now there is a photo and video, nationally distributed, of Palmer smiling at Simpson, two Heisman Trophy winners chatting.

"How could Palmer do that?" USC friends and foes might ask. But it wasn't Palmer's fault.

Did Carroll have to say this afterward about Simpson: "It was good to have him out here. At 'SC, our guys hold a Heisman Trophy winner in the highest regard. For them to get a chance to see him and visit with him was very special for them"? No, he didn't.

That comment evoked rage, pain, anguish and disgust from dozens of e-mailers, many of them USC alumni.

Jon Arnett, an All-American tailback at USC, former Los Angeles Ram and a 2001 inductee into the College Football Hall of Fame, wrote one of the e-mails. And over the telephone, Arnett was eager to express his feelings.

"I can understand the kids on the team who were very young at the time, doing what they did," Arnett said. "But I can't imagine Pete Carroll or anybody else, Mike Garrett, people in authority, who condoned this.

"Most of the USC people I talked to today, and I talked to a lot, are very unhappy. What I'm concerned about is the example it gives young kids in the United States that somebody with that kind of background can still be a role model because of a Heisman Trophy. I can't condone it, I don't understand it.

"I think people like Carroll and Garrett should know that I, and many others, would walk out of anything Simpson would show up at. This is not a simple matter. To see Simpson on TV shaking hands with the kids as if it was all right, everything was all right ... I can't agree with that."

For those who say that Simpson was acquitted in his criminal trial, Arnett would answer that in a civil trial Simpson was found liable for $33.5 million in damages for the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. There seemed to be no thought given to how the families of the victims might feel watching Simpson smile and mug for the cameras. Or to how the families might feel when they read on Sunday that Simpson referred to the murders and his trials as "my ordeal."

Simpson took advantage of USC. He took advantage of Justin Fargas, the USC tailback who had always admired Simpson, the football player. When Fargas — whose father, Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas, knew Simpson through the acting grapevine — took a chance and invited Simpson to practice, Simpson should have said no.

Any man with a sense of propriety, any man who cared about his university, any man who considered the feelings of anyone but himself would not have come to practice. A man with a moral center would have understood that, innocent or not, his presence anywhere is a flashpoint, especially so when he hadn't attended a USC football function in well over a decade by his own reckoning.

He would have known that showing up at this moment, at this time of celebration, could only tarnish the pride in this team, by its fans and his university.

But we know Simpson has no sense of propriety or feelings for anyone but himself. So he showed up. He conducted interviews and allowed himself to be photographed with players. Simpson is long past worrying if he looks bad. He certainly wouldn't worry how he would make USC players look.

Anthony Davis, a former USC All-American tailback and Heisman runner-up in 1974, was passionately angry Sunday.

"That took a lot of gall to do that," Davis said. "Simpson lost the right to be with the team in those situations. If I'm involved in the biggest murder case of all time, with all the controversy that surrounded that case ... that's gall to do what he did.

"When I saw that, let me tell you. Some people need to know when they don't need to come around and some people need to know when to keep people away. You want somebody to talk to the players after practice? I'd be happy to. We don't need O.J. Simpson to do that."

"It was a unique situation," Carroll said Sunday. "We've had previous players come by our practices — Keyshawn Johnson, John McKay, Tony Boselli. We hold our former players in high regard."

A misjudgment was made. It was made by anybody at USC who thought Simpson's presence was not going to be taken negatively. It is a misjudgment to equate Keyshawn Johnson's practice appearance with Simpson's.

One of the great charms of USC's football program is its embrace of tradition and its former players. "Family atmosphere" is not an empty phrase. USC football is truly a family.

But a family can also teach lessons. That's what is supposed to happen at a university, too. Whether you believe Simpson is guilty of everything, innocent of everything or is somewhere in between, if you are a USC athletic official or coach, you must know he is divisive and distracting. You must know he would do far more harm than good to your team this week.

Simpson could have stayed away. USC should have begged him to do so. Because nothing good happened Saturday after only good had been happening for so long with this group.

Diane Pucin can be reached at: [email protected].

 

[kurchatovium]

Thanks amk for the retrieving the article. Yes I think I agree with Diane Pucin's article. Simpson in a selfish act took advantage of USC and USC more or less let him without putting up much of a fight.

 

[bticklishfeet]

I agree with Joby, BettyBoop and Kurchatovium

I think you summed it up nicely Joby and BettyBoop my mother taught me the same thing.

My partents taught us the same thing, funny,not funny ha ha but odd if you will... how at the time I didn't appreciate it. Now that I am older thanks Dad and Mom!

Also I was taught if you don't have anything good to say about someone don't say anything at all.
🙂So,with that being said.


O.J. Simpson

 

[kandykisses]

Ya know, just having to look at his ugly mug is too much for me to handle!
How he could have the nerve to show up is beyond me, he thinks he is all that and a bag of chips. News flash for you big boy you ain't worth 2 cents!
I don't think he should have showed up but that is just me.