Posted on 09/30/2005 9:35:35 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Ten years after he was acquitted of killing his ex-wife and her friend, O.J. Simpson was back in Los Angeles - autographing sports memorabilia for people attending a horror movie convention.
Simpson acknowledged it felt "strange" to be signing autographs in such venue, but said it didn't occur to him that the date nearly coincided with the 10th anniversary of his Oct. 3, 1995, acquittal on charges of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
"I don't keep these dates in my head," Simpson told The Associated Press on Friday as he signed various items with the inscription "O.J. Simpson '68 Heisman," a reference to the year he won the Heisman Trophy as college football's greatest player.
He said the only anniversary he observes is when he and his children mark their mother's birthday with a cake.
His opening-night appearance was a private affair in the upstairs portion of a warehouse where he was presented with items sent in by collectors who paid in advance for his signature.
Fans who prepaid $95 a ticket to enter the convention later in the weekend will have the opportunity to buy memorabilia and also get Simpson's signature, as well as buy souvenirs of horror films and comic books.
"This is kind of an unusual venue," Simpson remarked. "Friends were really excited when they heard I was coming to this, but I find this strange."
The former football star, who flew to California from his Miami home, said he occasionally appears at memorabilia conventions to sign such things as football helmets, jerseys and lithographs for collectors who pay top dollar. He acknowledged he was being paid for this appearance but declined to discuss financial arrangements.
"All the guys do this," he said of his fellow retired athletes. He also suggested he needs the money to pay for college educations for his two youngest children.
One of those who came to see him was Karen Valentina of Fort Worth, Texas, who hoped to have a picture taken.
"He was an amazing player," she said. "That's awesome."
Simpson, meanwhile, said he isn't worried that relatives of his wife and her friend will take him to court to try to get the money he's being paid.
After his acquittal, the victims' survivors sued him in civil court where a jury, using a lesser standard of proof than required in a criminal trial, found Simpson liable for the killings. He was ordered to pay $33.5 million.
"If I get a lot of legal hassle, I'll just go back to playing golf," he said.
Holy sh-t! 10 years ago on this day I was sitting in my History of Mexico class, listening to a "guest lecturer" from the National University of Mexico. When we broke, someone came in and stated that OJ was aquitted.
Don't forget the biggest piece of crap of all Barry Sheck. He convinced a bunch of brain dead folks that the DNA was tampered and contaminated, I wonder how he sleeps at night. Killer had his DNA all over the place. Killer is free but Killer will rot in hell.
I remember even better, the day they day of the murder. I didn't know who she was and I cared only in the abstract sense that I care about any murder. I worked in the evenings at a low wage job with lots of people of various races. I was shocked that a number of women were passionately asserting that "the b!+ch deserved it!". At that point, I had no reason to believe that OJ did it but there was no doubt in their minds: He did it AND she deserved it! It was gut wrenching to see the same people defend his innocence and celebrate his acquittal. Many neoracists white and black were born during that shameful time.
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