Should OJ Simpson be on the new stadiums Wall of Fame?

[Ethan in Cleveland]

Pretty simple. If the Bills Wall of Fame never existed and you were starting from scratch, you wouldn't include him.  As others have said, there are others on the wall now that don't really belong on the wall - Hansen, Richter, Talley etc.

The athletic performance on the field argument breaks down pretty easily when you include an announcer, a physical trainer, and Kalsu who only tragically played one year.  The Wall is to celebrate people who deserve to be honored for a variety of reasons.

He is in all the record books for what he did on the field. His Yards/game in a single season record will never be matched.  That is good enough.  You can not take that away from him or his athletic legacy.  

You can list him in the top 10 greatest RB's of all time and the top 4 Bills of all time for what he did on the filed. You will get no arguments.

 

Celebrating a double murderer is entirely different. His name does not belong.  

[BarleyNY]

18 minutes ago, sullim4 said:

 

I mean there's gonna be reporting on the decision one way or the other regardless of what they decide to do in the new stadium.

 

If this report is correct, it sounds like names aren't going up prominently in the stadium but rather will be included in a sort of outdoor area with plaques, similar to say Monument Park at Yankee Stadium.  If that's the case, I think you have to include OJ.  It is significantly less prominent than the existing wall.  Put the retired numbers (Kelly, Thurman, Bruce) + Ralph in the stadium and leave the rest of the folks in the "Family Circle" area.

It would make sense for the team to not put names up in the new stadium. Just from a potential issue with advertisers and/or the league. No company would want its logo in the same picture as OJ’s name now. And who knows what comes out about some other Wall of Fame player years after they’re done playing? The potential downside is just not worth it. 

 

As for including OJ in anything, I doubt they do. At least not as an individual. I could see his accomplishments listed somewhere, but anything that honors him personally would be inviting problems. No one is going to boycott anything because OJ is not honored, but some company might if he is - especially if there are people who make a big deal of it. It’s a pure business decision. It might be their moral one too as they align in this case, but the economic business decision is iron clad. 

[Another Fan]

I was fine with his number being left on at The Ralph.

 

But for a new stadium I’m gonna go with no 

[behind a post WMS69]

24 minutes ago, Another Fan said:

I was fine with his number being left on at The Ralph.

 

But for a new stadium I’m gonna go with no 

Same here. 

My fandom started in the mid-60s, so watching him at the rockpile and then Rich was a high point for those crap teams. But moving forward, there's just no place for a guy like him.

[US Egg]

Well, eventually they’ll have to make room for the polarizing McDermott…..

[13 Seconds to Mars]

4 hours ago, BillsPride12 said:

The purpose of a Wall of Fame is primarily for on field accomplishments and success.  It doesn't have to mean every guy up there was a boy scout...alot of the Super Bowl era Bills wouldn't pass that test either

 

But when you murder two innocent people you lose any privilege of being celebrated or recognized for your accomplishments. It's that simple 

Tell that to the Ravens and Ray Lewis. He and OJ’s cases have a lot of similarities (OJ’s being more high profile.) Both charged in crimes where 2 people were stabbed to death. Both found innocent despite pretty damning foresic evidence. And yet one is celebrated and the other isn’t. 
 

Don’t get me wrong. F*** OJ, but I don’t like the double standard. 

Edited May 31 by 13 Seconds to Mars

[Alphadawg7]

We just had this thread like a month ago, answer was no then and it’s no now 

[ControllerOfPlanetX]

Baltimore has a STATUE !!!…of Ray Lewis.

I don’t think we should be like the Ravens.

I wonder if Ray ever helped trying to find the killers.

 

[Augie]

1 hour ago, Another Fan said:

I was fine with his number being left on at The Ralph.

 

But for a new stadium I’m gonna go with no 

 

I would not have gone to the trouble or enjoyed the attention that removing his name from the old place would have generated. It’s very easy to just not include it at the new place. That way it becomes a non-event, as I think it should be. 

Just now, ControllerOfPlanetX said:

Baltimore has a STATUE !!!…of Ray Lewis.

I don’t think we should be like the Ravens.

I wonder if Ray ever helped trying to find the killers.

 

 

I never understood why more of that didn’t stick to him. 

[Ray Stonada]

The Wall of Fame is not a stats table.

 

It's a wall of honor for the most beloved Buffalo Bills, who brought a lot of joy and pride to Buffalo.

 

OJ left that company.

[bleve]

5 hours ago, jethro_tull said:

Yes but with an asterisk. 

 

and with the letters in orange.

[HamptonBillsfan]

I was a huge OJ fan. His style of running was poetry both college and pro. Unfortunately he sullied the history and the legacy of our proud franchise with  his murderous and abusive impulses. The mere mention of his name should disgust Bills fans. His image should be removed from anything connected to the Bills.

[boyst]

Yes. Possibly the greatest player to ever wear the Bills uniform. Bruce smith and OJ Simpson are a tier above everyone else. 

[PrimeTime101]

Just now, boyst said:

Yes. Possibly the greatest player to ever wear the Bills uniform. Bruce smith and OJ Simpson are a tier above everyone else. 

so like Baltimore ray.. his history means nothing?

[Special K]

2 minutes ago, boyst said:

Yes. Possibly the greatest player to ever wear the Bills uniform. Bruce smith and OJ Simpson are a tier above everyone else. 

I think you are forgetting someone......

 

[boyst]

3 minutes ago, PrimeTime101 said:

so like Baltimore ray.. his history means nothing?

Been to a game in Baltimore? They still use Ray Lewis in game all the time for hypes on the jumbotron

1 minute ago, Special K said:

I think you are forgetting someone......

 

When he retired we will talk. 

[PrimeTime101]

52 minutes ago, boyst said:

Been to a game in Baltimore? They still use Ray Lewis in game all the time for hypes on the jumbotron

When he retired we will talk. 

no  and thats nuts. let baltimore be them.. why cant we be us and do the right moral thing?

[uticaclub]

[boyst]

1 hour ago, PrimeTime101 said:

no  and thats nuts. let baltimore be them.. why cant we be us and do the right moral thing?

It shocked me. In 2018 (I think) I went to the opener and they had him on hype videos in screen. They had him on promos and posters up. The crowd gave me grief, as expected. But a guy who reminded me of don Vito from bam magera was drunk and really went after it. He started making fun of OJ. I started making fun of Ray Lewis. The section got into it with me for talking about it. I had enough when he bashed Jim Kelly being a jawless cancer stricken guy. His wife took him home before it got too silly.

 

The Baltimore ravens official message boards won't let you bring up Ray Lewis and his crimes, either. 

[PonyBoy]

A simplistic way to make this judgement is...

 

Of any other NFL team having names on ring of honor. Has any past member been tried for such heinous murders? 

 

Caused such division in the USA? 

 

Ray Lewis is my 1st thought as a HOF, but very different being an accomplice, which was likely but not proven. No nationwide division. 

 

Rae Carruth, scum bag, not a ring of honor guy with so little contributed.

 

Questionable characters on many of these walls? Sure.

 

No one can ever forget OJ on the field! But he lost that privilege to be honored locally in the new stadium. IMO.