Rant #1,943: Backfield In Motion

Yesterday, O.J. Simpson was granted parole after serving nine years or a possible 30-year sentence for armed robbery and assault.

His exemplary behavior behind bars, as well as him finding God and taking anger management classes, as well as testimony from even one of the people who he robbed, convinced officials that he had served his time and was ready for release.

He said he plans to go to Florida to live with his family.

The Simpson saga is just that, and Hollywood could never write a script like this.

He went from just another street kid to a college football star to an NFL Hall of Famer to a celebrity to a possible felon, and then to a real felon, in seemingly one fell swoop, and if this sentence that I wrote is long and convoluted, it isn't as much as Simpson's life has been.

The world was seemingly captivated when a jury found Simpson not guilty of the murder of his wife and one of her supposed friends, and all the hoopla surrounding that trial certainly made it one of the great cases of all time, one that is still being looked at, without any firm conclusions.

He was convicted in a civil trial, but in the real eyes of justice, he was innocent.

Simpson was one of the most likable people in the country in the 1970s and 1980s. He turned his prowess on the gridiron to success in the entertainment field, and he starred in numerous movies, TV shows and commercials playing off that likable personality he supposedly had.

But what we saw on the screen was, evidently, not the real Simpson, who had a troubled childhood generated by a troubled family, and he was a person with anger management issues that he kept well hidden from the general public.

And then came the high-speed road chase, the seemingly interminable trial, which was broadcast daily, and the aftermath, when he acted like he was the victim, not those who he had been accused of murdering.

Remember the pronouncements that he, himself was "looking for the killer" as he patrolled the golf links across the country?

But then Simpson got wrapped up in his own bravado, attacking memorabilia dealers who he believed had stolen memorabilia from him, and rather than go to the authorities with this belief, and challenge it legally, he took matters into his own hands, and he wound up in jail for his actions, with a sentence that if carried out to length, could have found him staying in prison into his 90s.

Now 70, Simpson has repented, said what he did was wrong, and he will be out of the pokey as early as this fall.

You can look at the Simpson saga several different ways, and whether you believe he had nothing to do with the earlier murders, they had nothing to do with the sentence, and the eventual parole, he received in the latest incident.

The guy has repented, served his time, and like any other inmate, he was due due process, and he got what the law says he should have gotten.

My advice to Simpson is to keep his nose clean for the rest of his life.

When he gets out, don't galavant to local nightclubs or hot spots, because it will give the public the complete wrong impression of him, or at least the wrong impression that he should be giving out.

Lay low, stay with your family, enjoy being able to breathe again.

Stay with the values you learned in prison, and don't make the whole thing into a canard.

Speak to you again on Monday. Have a good weekend.