O.J. Simpson. (Photo by Jason Bean-Pool/Getty Images)

The family of the late O.J. Simpson has decided on if his brain will be donated for CTE research.

On Thursday, O.J. Simpson’s family announced on X/Twitter that he had passed away at the age of 76 following a battle with cancer. The controversial former NFL running back announced in May 2023 that he was undergoing chemotherapy for cancer.

According to a report from the New York Post, Simpson’s body “is expected to be cremated” in Las Vegas this Tuesday. The report states that Simpson’s family has also decided that his brain will NOT be donated for CTE research:

“O.J. Simpson’s brain will be incinerated, not investigated, The Post has learned.

His longtime attorney and executor Malcolm LaVergne said he’s signed off on all the paperwork for Simpson’s cremation, but the family gave a “hard no” to scientists asking to study Simpson’s brain to see if the ex-running back suffered from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease afflicting many retired football players who suffered multiple concussions during their careers.”

Per the New York Post, LaVergne stated, “With OJ everything’s wild, but I’ve been getting calls from medical centers that are doing CTE testing asking me for OJ’s brain…that is not happening.”

When a former professional football player passes away, some of the deceased players’ families will donate their brains for CTE research. CTE can only be diagnosed after death. Last year, researchers at Boston University revealed that they had found CTE in 345 of 376 deceased players that were studied.

OJ Simpson’s Complicated Legacy

Simpson rose to fame as a superstar NFL running back in the ’70s, earning five Pro Bowl nods as well as 1973 NFL MVP and Offensive Player of the Year honors. After his playing career, Simpson found success on the big screen as an actor and pitchman.

But Simpson’s image as a sports hero and icon forever changed in June 1994, when he was arrested and charged with the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ronald Goldman.

The highly-publicized trial later became known as the “Trial of the Century.” After nine months, a jury acquitted Simpson of both murder charges. The families of the victims later took Simpson to civil court and won that case, with a jury ordering him to pay them $33.5 million.

In 2007, Simpson was arrested for his involvement in an armed robbery at a hotel in Las Vegas. In 2008, he was sentenced to 33 years in prison, only to be paroled in the summer of 2017.

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