By Daniel Johnson-Kim, Sports Editor
He’s back!
The man whose ugly mug littered the news pages and talk shows during the better part of the 90s – the guy who walks down the street and just looks guilty.
That’s right, O.J. Simpson is back in the news.
The ex-pro football player and ex-murder suspect was arrested Sunday and charged with six felony counts including armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon , conspiracy to burglary and burglary with a firearm.
The Las Vegas Police Department detained Simpson for allegedly seizing various mementos and sports memorabilia from two memorabilia dealers.
The dealers said Simpson and five other men burst into their room carrying weapons at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.
Although Simpson was detained and held without bail, the Las Vegas police said there is no current evidence Simpson was one of the men carrying a weapon during the incident or that anyone was harmed.
Simpson proclaimed his innocence right when the story broke, doing numerous interviews to explain his side of the story.
“I’m O.J. Simpson. How am I going to think that I’m going to rob somebody and get away with it?” Simpson told the Los Angeles Times.
Simpson declared the holdup wasn’t robbery.
He explained he was just running a sting operation to get back items that were originally stolen from him.
Wow.
You would think being a suspect in a murder investigation that gripped a nation and ruined Simpson’s reputation would be reason enough to keep O.J. on the straight and narrow.
But apparently he missed the memo.
Simpson has become the epitome of a crooked professional athlete.
Just saying his name gives me chills.
He repeatedly shows no concern for the law, and his latest criminal endeavor isn’t surprising.
Since he put down the football and picked up life off the field, Simpson just can’t get it right. And though he is innocent until proven guilty, it’s hard to not jump to a conclusion when it comes to O.J. Simpson.
Even though the glove didn’t fit, I’m not convinced he should have been acquitted.
Simpson is the king of crooked athletes, but he is only a small slice of the pie.
Whether it’s Michael Vick, Pacman Jones or the king himself, it seems like there is a trend of current and former professional athletes who don’t understand the law applies to them too. Too many athletes are on America’s Sports Pages for all the wrong reasons. Drug charges, weapons violations, dog fighting and now armed robbery – when will it end?
Professional athletes should realize that despite their criminal endeavors, people actually look up to them, and they should take their role of being a public figure seriously.
So far, Simpson hasn’t been living up to his part of the bargain.
But at least we’ll get to watch him fall once again.
