O.J. Simpson is back to rocking the free world. Under the cover of Nevada nightfall, the famous athlete was released from prison on Saturday night/Sunday morning. The release ends a prison sentence that many believed belonged to the NFL legend for a crime committed much earlier. Nevertheless, he is free to live out the rest of his days comfortably and away from the jail cell he has called home for the past nine years. Whether he should be or not -- and what he does next -- are entirely different questions.
Simpson is a free man
After a widely-viewed parole hearing went well for him, Simpson was guaranteed release some time in October.
It took just eight minutes to pass in the new month for that release to come in local time. He left Lovelock Correctional Center for parts unknown. There was a video released by the department showing the former NFL star's release, but it was dark and didn't reveal much beyond what Simpson was wearing and him uttering the word "okay."
He was initially jailed after an incident that took place just over ten years ago, when he led a contingent to a Las Vegas memorabilia shop in search of items he believed to be stolen relating to his NFL days. Some of those men were armed, which Simpson maintains is something he wasn't aware of at the time. His original sentence was seen by some as a do-over sentence for his acquittal of the double murder of his ex-wife and friend in the 1990s, which led to one of the most famous trials of all-time.
Once again, he is walking free.
What's next for Simpson?
Simpson will likely not go quiet into the good night. His life has played out as a media spectacle and the 70-year-old will likely fall back into those trappings again, depending on who he surrounds himself with going forward. There are rumors that he could move to Florida to be near his children.
If he does so, he'll need to have a transfer approved, since he'll be under parole supervision for up to five years. The state's attorney general has already stated that she doesn't want the former NFL star in Florida.
For now, it's just about integrating back into society. That means learning about what has changed in the past decade.
He needs to ditch his flip phone for a smarter one. He needs to take a side on the NFL national anthem protests. He may also want to sell any Napster stock he still has and start working on paying the $65 million debt he owes to the estate of Ronald Goldman. It's safe to say that the world will be watching Simpson closely.
