O.J. Simpson dead at 76

(CNN, KYMA/KECY) - O.J. Simpson died Wednesday at age 76. His family announced his passing on social media.

They said he lost his battle with cancer, surrounded by his children and grandkids.

Simpson played for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers during his 11-year NFL career. He also won the Heisman Trophy in 1968 while at the University of Southern California.

Simpson's fame went well past his playing days, most notably as a broadcaster for NBC Sports and as an actor for his roles in films like, "The Naked Gun" and "Firepower".

But they were eclipsed by his 1995 acquittal in the brutal killings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.

He later lost a multi-million dollar wrongful death suit brought by the families of his ex-wife and Goldman.

In 2007, police arrested him in Las Vegas on several felony charges including kidnapping and armed robbery.

Simpson and armed accomplices raided a hotel room in what he called an attempt to just get back some of his stolen belongings.

He was sentenced to 33 and a half years in prison but released on parole nine years later back in 2017.