The former pro-football player at the center of a case that gripped the nation 30 years ago has died.

O.J. Simpson, former professional football player, died on Wednesday at 76 after a battle with cancer, his family announced.

The big picture: Simpson was acquitted after a widely watched trial in the 1990s over the murder of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald L. Goldman, which captivated the American public's attention.

Here was the family's post on Simpson's account:

More from TMZ:

O.J. had reportedly been battling prostate cancer in recent years, and his health took a turn for the worse of late -- with him landing in hospice care within the past few months.

Word about O.J.'s cancer diagnosis first made the rounds in February, when a local outlet reported it, although the details were hazy ... as was O.J.'s response to the news at the time, when he denied he was in hospice, but didn't address the cancer report.

Adding to the mystery was the fact O.J. actually touched on a cancer diagnosis in 2023 in a video he posted on X -- when he said he'd "caught" some form of cancer, but suggested he'd beaten it. In any case, the cancer came back and claimed his life about a year later.

If only Norm MacDonald were here to give the eulogy...

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