FX is set to air a 10-episode series on O.J. Simpson, and that whole mess of trouble he got himself into, because the double-murder of Nicole Simpson and Ronald Goldman is great entertainment to an oddly large number of people. So, just like 22-years ago, O.J. finds himself back in the news, though the world has changed a great deal, and since then concussions have found themselves to be an enormous issue amongst former football players. It was only a matter of time, really, until somebody combined the two (though it should be noted that Simpson's defense team prepared a concussion strategy several years ago when he was on trial for armed robbery and kidnapping charges).
Dr. Bennet Omalu, the guy Will Smith played in Concussion, told People Magazine that he'd "bet [his] medical license that" Simpson has CTE. Of course, O.J. has to be dead before it can actually be confirmed. Symptoms that have been associated with the degenerative disease include: Mood swings, domestic violence, exaggerated emotional distractions to normal everyday things, violent tendencies, and "criminality." Of course, you don't have to be a weird ass shut-in who followed the trial daily throughout the mid-'90s to see how some of these might apply to O.J.
Also noted in the People article is how O.J. had an abnormally large melon that required a custom helmet. Dr. Omalu explains "If you have a bigger head that means your head is heavier. That means the momentum of your impact would be bigger. It's basic physics."
O.J. previously told the court, again in his trial for armed robbery and kidnapping, that "I was knocked out of games for such head blows repeatedly in the 1970s and other times I continued playing despite hard blows to my head during football games."
A former federal prosecutor, Stanley L. Friedman, told People that CTE might be used to determine his sentencing, but not whether or not O.J. would be responsible for his alleged crimes, saying:
"It might affect his punishment, but not his culpability. If someone has diminished capacity, he can still be responsible for the crime. It's more an argument in mitigation in terms of a sentence."
Simpson played for the NFL for 11 seasons and, like any starting running back, took thousands of hits. In 2008 he was sentenced to 33 years in prison. However, he will be eligible for parole in 2017.
[via People]
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