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Did O.J. Simpson Have Prostate Cancer? Inside the Football Star’s Diagnosis After His Death
Disgraced football star O.J. Simpson died at 76 years old after his battle with prostate cancer in April 2024. Everything we know about his reported diagnosis, treatment and history of health problems.
Did O.J. Simpson Have Cancer?
Though O.J. did not personally confirm or deny the diagnosis, a February 9, 2024, report from Local 10 News in his home state of Nevada claimed the former football player was battling prostate cancer.
Sources for the outlet said that O.J. was currently receiving chemotherapy treatment for the disease.
O.J.’s family confirmed on April 11, 2024, that the former NFL star had died the day before in Las Vegas.
“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer,” his family shared in a statement on X. “He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren. During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”
Two weeks after his passing, O.J.’s attorney and executor of his estate Malcolm LaVergne confirmed to TMZ that his cause of death was prostate cancer.
Was O.J. Simpson in Hospice?
Despite reports that the retired running back was on hospice, he denied that he was receiving end of life care in February 2024.
“Hey, X world!” the actor said in a February 9, 2024, video posted to X. “Hospice? Hospice? You talking about hospice? No, I’m not in any hospice. I don’t know who put that out there,” he said, adding, “You can’t trust the media.”
He drove home his point about the rumors being false by sharing his plans for Super Bowl LVIII, which took place two days later. “All is well,” he concluded.
Did O.J. Simpson Have a History of Health Problems?
In a May 2023 video posted to X, O.J. briefly mentioned that he had “caught” cancer and underwent chemotherapy, although he didn’t specify what type he had. He concluded the video at the time by saying he had avoided nausea, a common side effect of the cancer drug, by smoking marijuana, and that he had completed his treatment.
In July 2023, a report in Radar Online claimed that O.J. had undergone emergency surgery to place a stent in his heart amid growing concerns about his health.
The Naked Gun star’s former manager, Norman Pardo, weighed in on his reported health crisis to the outlet. Norman claimed at the time that O.J.’s health was deteriorating so rapidly, he “[couldn’t] even finish a round of golf” anymore, one of the former athlete’s favorite pastimes for decades.
“The doctors want him to rest at home because there isn’t much they can do for him,” the manager added to the outlet at the time.
Hours after the report was published, O.J. took to X to refute the claims about his failing health.
“I didn’t realize I had a heart attack until I read it in the news today,” the former Buffalo Bills player captioned his July 7, 2023, video.
“I guess I thought a heart attack would feel a lot worse than whatever this is,” he quipped in the clip. “In any event, it must be true because it was in the media. So maybe I should run to the hospital real quick. Maybe I had a heart attack and didn’t know it,” he concluded his video with a chuckle.
In 2018, O.J. told The Buffalo News he believed his years of playing football left him with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative disease caused by repeated head trauma.
“I feel all right. But I have days when I can’t … I lose words, and I can’t come up with a simple word. I can’t remember a phone number, so forget that,” the football legend said about his potential side effects from the disease.
And though a CTE diagnosis couldn’t be confirmed until after death, Dr. Bennet Omalu, the man who discovered the disease, agreed with O.J.’s self-diagnosis.
The physician, though he has not treated O.J. himself, told ABC News during a 2016 interview he believed he “more likely than not” had the chronic illness of the brain.
However, it will never be confirmed if O.J. suffered from CTE because his family refused to donate his brain to science following his death. “Some people think that’s a shame, given that the families of other NFL players have donated to help science understand this disease,” an insider exclusively told In Touch about the situation. “But O.J.’s relatives don’t want to go that route. It could dredge up the past and give credence to the theory that he had brain damage that made him violent. They want O.J. to rest in peace.”
O.J. also suffered from joint and knee problems, for which he has undergone multiple surgeries, from his 11-year career in the NFL.
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