"They should be fired": O.J. Simpson's In Memoriam inclusion at BET Awards draws criticism

Some attendees at Sunday's BET Awards were taken by surprise when O.J. Simpson, the former NFL star and actor, was among those featured in the In Memoriam segment of the show.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a "noticeable silence fell over the crowd" when Simpson's image was displayed. Aside from his athletic and cinematic feats, Simpson, who passed away in April from metastatic cancer, leaves behind a troubling legacy. Simpson was the primary suspect in a 1994 double homicide that saw the brutal slaying of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman, the 30th anniversary of which was on June 12. Following a highly publicized trial, Simpson was acquitted; however, in 1997, the former running back was found liable for both killings in a civil suit filed by the victims' families and was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages.

Both Ron and Nicole's families expressed frustration at the decision to feature Simpson at the BET Awards alongside figures like Willie Mays, Carl Weathers, Bill Cobbs, Dexter Scott King, and more. “I think they shouldn’t include anyone of that caliber — a wife beater, murderer . . . can’t imagine why they would include someone like that," Ron's father, Fred Goldman, told TMZ. Nicole's sister Tanya Brown, who along with many of Nicole's family and friends took part in the recently premiered Lifetime documentary, "The Life and Murder of Nicole Brown Simpson," claimed that it was "inappropriate to give an abuser and murderer recognition.

"Whoever thought of doing that owes every domestic violence victim an apology," she added. ". . .  And that’s including our family. And, they should be fired.”