My daughter Bryson and her mom had just returned from her two-day orientation at Dominican University in the Chicago suburb of River Forest, Ill., last Thursday as O.J. Simpson’s parole hearing was being televised.
Born on Feb. 16, 1999, Bryson hadn’t graced the world when Simpson’s infamous murder trial was staged in Los Angeles. She was just 9 years old when he somehow ended up in a Nevada prison on a series of robbery charges.
But like most young adults her age, they know the O.J Simpson saga quite well.
On Friday morning, she said, “Hey dad. If O.J. Simpson goes on a speaking tour or makes appearances around the country, I want to get tickets.”
My reaction was, “I want to go too.”
That’s the fascination of O.J. Simpson.
I never liked O.J. Simpson. My mother can vouch for me on that being a true statement.
I never wanted to wear No. 32, wasn’t thrilled when Simpson topped 2,000 yards in 1973 as a member of the Buffalo Bills and wasn’t overjoyed the day he was found not guilty in the deaths of his ex-wife and one of her friends.
But the June day that millions of people say Simpson “got away with murder” is one I remember like it was yesterday. I was working for the Regional Commerce and Growth Association (RCGA). Pizzas were ordered and dozens of us huddled around TVs in various offices.
When the verdicts were read I didn’t celebrate, but I wasn’t sad either. The look I saw on many white faces that afternoon was one that black people have been forced to wear for hundreds of years.
“This can’t be right. This just didn’t happen. This isn’t fair.”
The same American justice system that freed O.J. Simpson is the same one that sent him to prison in Nevada, even though he was overcharged and over-sentenced. It’s the same one that, justly, paroled him.
It’s the same American justice system that sets some police officers free after they face grand jury investigations or trial for shooting and killing unarmed people.
It’s the same American justice system that has been systematically proven to go easier on the wealthy, while being more punitive towards poor and minority people.
O.J. Simpson is not a hero. While it looks as though he killed two people, he just doesn’t come off as pure evil, either.
O.J. Simpson is a guy that has been grinded through the machinery of the American justice system twice and will once again be a free man come October. He’s Hamlet and Othello. He’s a creation of America.
Yes, I’ll go see O.J. Simpson. I won’t cheer. I won’t boo. I’ll just take it all in.
“Would you take a picture with him?” Bryson asked. “I would.”
My response was “I guess I would too. I’d try not to smile, but hey…”
Bryson isn’t a fan of O.J. Simpson. She’s an honor student who appreciates American history. O.J. Simpson is a part of our nation’s history and his story is unique.
That’s the fascination. God help us all.
Celebrating 125 years
Johnson C. Smith (Biddle University) traveled to Livingstone in Salisbury, N.C., for a football game 125 years ago.
Johnson C. Smith won 5-0, according to the African American Registry website. An odd score for a game that has been pretty much lost in the annals of college football.
According to the Registry, it was the first football game between HBCU teams.
The Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association (CIAA) prides itself on being the oldest black college athletic conference in the United States, and its commissioner said that first game will be honored throughout the 2017 season.
“As the oldest historically black athletic conference in the nation, one of the pillars we pride ourselves on is tradition,” Jacqie McWilliams said in a press release.
“We invite everyone to join us in celebrating such a milestone and witness the rich history and uniqueness of black college football, an experience like no other.”
According to the Registry:
The historic game was played on a snowy day.
It was played on the front lawn on campus at Livingstone. There were two 45-minute halves.
W.J. Trent scored what appeared to be a Livingstone touchdown on a fumble recovery, but it was ruled he recovered the ball out of bounds. The snow, no doubt, had an impact.
Livingstone’s uniforms were made by the women in the school’s industrial department.
The two schools renew their rivalry on Nov. 4 at Livingstone’s Alumni Stadium.
Livingstone coach Daryl Williams said, “It goes beyond my imagination to think about how many coaches and players came before all of us over such a long period of time.”
Hopefully, the game will get noted nationally by ESPN or CBS, the largest providers of NCAA college football.
Congrats to Tim Raines
Tim “Rock” Raines will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. on Sunday. For those of us who watched him play many a game at Busch Stadium while with the Montreal Expos, we can only say “congratulations and what took so damn long?”
Media members who vote like to play morality police and Raines was suspended for his role in a cocaine scandal. It pales in comparison to ongoing use of steroid and performance enhancing drugs, but a black guy on cocaine was more than many white voters could tolerate, regardless of how ridiculous that sounds.
Raines was named to seven consecutive National League All-Star teams from 1981 to 1987.
He totaled 2,605 hits, 1,571 runs scored, 980 RBIs and a .294 batting average during his career. He received 86 percent of the vote among BBWAA writers – in his last shot on the ballot.
He said social media played a role in his jumping from 24 percent in 2016 to 86 percent a year later. It takes 75 percent of ballots to reach the Hall of Fame.
I think … a lot of people didn’t really know about what Tim Raines did as a player for the 23 years that he played,” he said.
Alvin A. Reid is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook and appears on ABC’s The Allman Report and several sports radio shows, including Frank Cusumano’s “The Press Box” on KFNS. His Twitter handle is @aareid1.
