Bills undecided on including O.J. Simpson on new stadium’s Legend Wall
The Bills are preparing two versions of their new stadium’s Legend Wall - one with O.J. Simpson and one without - as the team weighs a final decision.
The Buffalo Bills have not yet decided whether O. J. Simpson will be included in the team’s honors at the new Highmark Stadium.
The organization is designing a “Family Circle” plaza, a gathering space outside the venue that will feature a Bills Legend Wall with tributes to members of the franchise’s Wall of Fame. The design team is preparing for layouts both including and excluding Simpson, but no final decision has been made, senior vice president of design Frank Cravotta told ESPN . The new Highmark Stadium is scheduled to open this summer.
The centerpiece of the Family Circle will be three giant bison sculptures — a bull, cow and calf — surrounded by circular benches and vertical illuminated plaques honoring Wall of Fame members and Western New York history. Simpson, a Pro Football Hall of Famer, remains one of the most accomplished players in team history. He won the 1973 NFL MVP award and became the first player to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, leading the league in rushing four times.
Simpson was included on the Wall of Fame at the previous Highmark Stadium, which closed in January. He was acquitted in a 1995 criminal trial in the killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, but was later found liable for their deaths in a civil case. Simpson was also convicted in 2008 on charges including armed robbery and kidnapping, serving nine years in prison before his release on parole in 2017.