Disgraced former football star O.J. Simpson is coming under fire for insensitive comments about 9/11.
Simpson appeared on the “It is What it Is” sports podcast to discuss the New York Jets’ fortunes following their quarterback Aaron Rodgers’ season-ending injury on Monday night.
In the interview, Simpson expressed optimism that the Jets would still be able to have a good season, but also said, “9/11 is just a bad day for New York.”
Simpson was referring to the fact that Sept. 11 is the date of the worst terrorist attack in American history, when Islamist terrorists rammed two planes into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, killing over 2,900 people.
Rodgers was injured on Monday, Sept. 11, and ruled out for the season exactly 22 years after that attack happened, and Simpson decided to make a joke about it.
But no one appeared to find that joke amusing, with one social media user saying, “This is a new low.”
Former #NFL RB OJ Simpson speaking about the Aaron Rodgers injury:
“9/11 is just a bad day for New York.”
This is a new low. pic.twitter.com/zWHvu2Ii5j
— JPAFootball (@jasrifootball) September 13, 2023
Other users of X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter, agreed with this sentiment, but pointed out it was rather hard for Simpson to hit a “new low” when he went to jail for armed robbery and kidnapping, and many people believe that he was responsible for the murder of his wife.
I think he’s done worse than this lol
— Dialante (@Deetalksalot) September 13, 2023
“This is a new low”
Idk this guy literally murdered somebody. I think he’s had worse lows than this
— Jake (@D1SCHER) September 13, 2023
i would argue murder charges remain the low but to each their own
— Silas Bobendrier (@BobendrierNFL) September 13, 2023
Think OJ might have a lower low than this lmao
— Boston Sports Gordo (@BOSSportsGordo) September 13, 2023
Frankly, it is hard to disagree with these social media users. Simpson really should avoid making jokes about death.
Should OJ apologize for the joke?
Yes: 100% (4 Votes)
No: 0% (0 Votes)
But even more to the point, this is really just shameful behavior from Simpson. It does not matter who said it, or in what context it was said: Making jokes about this awful attack and comparing it to a sports injury is just despicable.
It shows that Simpson is really out of touch with people, and does not seem to fully comprehend just how traumatic that day was for those in New York who witnessed the attacks.
But, then again, what else would we expect from the author of “If I Did It”?
Words cannot describe just how shameful this is.
