The Buffalo Bills are just weeks away from moving to a new stadium, but won’t be taking one of the best — and most controversial — names of the franchise with them.
ESPN’s Alaina Getzenberg reported that the team reached a decision on late running back O.J. Simpson, whose name was etched into the wall of fame on the old version of Highmark Stadium. There had been a movement among fans calling on the team to leave Simpson behind, and the team announced its final decision on Saturday.
In a short announcement released this weekend, Bills president of business operations Pete Guelli said it would not be a “fit” to display Simpson’s name at the new stadium.
“We have made an organizational decision that he is not a fit to display inside our new stadium and family circle,” Guelli said.
Simpson, who died in April 2024 after a battle with cancer, was the first member inducted to the team’s Wall of Fame when it opened in 1980. Simpson was one of the most popular former players, especially as he launched a Hollywood acting career, but quickly became a controversial point for the team after he was charged with the 1994 stabbing deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
Simpson was acquitted, but found liable in a wrongful death civil lawsuit two years later. Simpson would later serve time behind bars on robbery and kidnapping charges.
As Getzenberg noted, the team had already taken steps to distance themselves from Simpson at the time of his death.
“Simpson passed away following a battle with cancer in April 2024,” Getzenberg wrote. “He was 76. At the time of his death, the Bills made a step towards distancing themselves by not releasing a statement or acknowledging his passing.”
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