Finally, finally, finally the original law evading celebrity (“LEC”), O.J. Simpson, is back in the news and, refreshingly, this time it’s not in his favor. Reuters is reporting that the ex-football star will have to turn over any money he has obtained through royalties from Take-Two’s All-Pro Football 2K8 which uses his likeness as one of it’s players in order “to satisfy a $33.5 million judgment won against Simpson.”
Simpson, who has maintained his innocence from the get go, was found not-guilty of the murder of Ron Goldman and his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson in 1995. But, in a civil suit brought forward by the Goldman family two years later, he was found legally responsible for their deaths. Yes, the world of law is a strange place. Simpson has refused to voluntarily pay any of the money the suit says he owes, but that doesn’t mean that the courts can’t drag it out of him. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Gerald Rosenberg ordered Simpson to turn over payments that “have been paid, are due or may be due in the future.” Simpson was also ordered to release all contracts and paperwork affiliated with Take-Two to the court.
Reuters, in what appears to be an attempt to extend the length of their story, also drew a connection between the fact that All-Pro Football 2K8 has a team called the Assassins and that said team’s mascot is a hooded man with a stabbing knife. Reuters then decided to watch a video of the game and found Simpson playing as an Assassin:
As previewed on a Web site for video game promotional trailers, the team mascot is a hooded figure who makes stabbing motions with a large knife in the end zone when the Assassins score. Simpson does not have to be assigned to that team, but he was in a clip shown on the Game Trailers Web site.
Way to make video games the bad guy in an article about O.J. Simpson, Reuters. Bravo… bravo. Like Take-Two needed more bad press. Take-Two, which doesn’t seem to care where its money is going as long as their not-so-good name isn’t tarnished further, has responded to the game bashing with a standard PR quote:
[The Assassin mascot is] not specifically associated with O.J. Simpson, and the game does not promote any such connection.
