LOS ANGELES — There is always a red-lettered release, words crafted in remembrance and in glory, when a prominent Trojan dies.
When former USC assistant coach Dave Levy – a four-time national champion a part of the legendary John McKay’s staff – died in November at age 91, it came with an announcement from USC, words honoring Levy as “one of the brightest and most innovative assistant coaches in USC football history.”
When former USC wide receiver Rod Sherman – a captain on McKay’s 1966 team – died in February at age 79, it came with an announcement from USC, words honoring Sherman as the man who’d “caught one of the most famous touchdowns in USC football history” against Notre Dame in 1964.
There were no words Wednesday when O.J. Simpson died.
In the morning, the Pro Football Hall of Famer’s children posted a statement to his Twitter account that Simpson had “succumbed to his battle with cancer.” And still, no announcement from USC has come; the Southern California News Group reached out to USC for comment or to see if the program would be issuing a statement, but no response was given immediately.
His 1968 Heisman Trophy was away from its pedestal in the lobby of USC’s Heritage Hall on Wednesday, along with trophies of past Heisman winners, replaced by signs that read “Heisman on Tour.” And the only physical evidence that Simpson ever existed in a Trojans uniform on the day of his death was the commemorative Heisman banner of his No. 32 jersey underneath the peristyle at the Coliseum.
This has been the story of Simpson’s relationship with USC, ever since the brutal murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, ever since the infamous 1995 trial during which he struggled to put on the killer’s glove and was acquitted, and the 1997 civil trial that found him liable for the grisly deaths. The university has been stuck navigating the unsolvable maze of his legacy for decades, often attempting…
Read the full article here
