This documentary produced by ESPN was one of great detail and was produced in a great way. The documentary covered not only to events of Nichole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman gruesome murders and the trial of O.J. Simpson, but it also covered O.J.’s life as a young boy and the segregated times of his early life in Los Angeles. Great detail was put into understanding O.J. and the way society separated him from his race. The documentary dives deep into the kind of man O.J. was and what led him to ultimately committing these heinous crimes.

Everyone knows about the O.J. trial and how it was and still is one of the biggest trials in American history. What is not as often talked about or discussed is the events that lead to this. How did O.J. become this man? What drove him to stardom? How was he so backed by millions of people even though it seems so obvious now that he was a murderer? This 5 part documentary does a great job and fully explaining these details.

O.J grew up in Los Angeles, California. This was time in Los Angeles where racism existed and was very much a part of the area he grew up in. Most people associate racism with only southern states but it could be found all over America during this time. As bad as racism was O.J. found a way to become immune to it in a way. He became a huge football star when he played for USC in his college career. He had a growing fan base. Whites and blacks all loved him. This translated to his years playing pro ball for the Buffalo Bills. He quickly became a star and people didn’t see color when they looked at O.J. They saw stardom and a great athlete. In the documentary it was clear to O.J.’s friends that O.J. didn’t think of himself as black. He was just O.J. He decided to retire from football early because he saw an opportunity to have a career in acting. O.J.’s ego grew and grew until it became obvious that he felt invincible. He was a movie star that was loved by all.

He left his first wife Marguerite in 1979 because it was clear that O.J had other women in his life and had been living the life of an entertainer for some time. He was addicted to fame. O.J. was always just about O.J. He could get whatever he wanted. He married Nicole in 1985 and they had two children together, but O.J.’s ego was too big to be settled down and he continued to cheat on his wife. Their relationship became toxic and their were many night where the police were called on O.J. because he was beating on Nicole. In 1992 Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.

In the trial of the century O.J. Simpson was found not guilty for the two murders. Personally I believe that the trail turned from about who killed these two people to a trial about race and the long history with how black people were treated by the L.A. police department. It became all about race and it did nothing but divide the city even more. I think there is no doubt that O.J. committed the crime, but the prosecution did a terrible job and let things get turned into a whole other case. The mishandling of evidence by the L.A. police department, and the tapes of Mark Fuhrman killed the prosecutions chance at convincing the jury that there was no reasonable doubt that he killed Nicole and Ron. It also seems the jury was very much racially on sided. With the history of injustice for blacks in the communities and city of L.A. it is shown that most of the jury thought this was pay back for all the mistreatment they have dealt with from the justice system. This was their way of getting even. Much racism showed its ugly head from both blacks and whites after the trial had concluded. In my opinion, the justice system had been flawed for many years in L.A. and this was the black communities big win. Ultimately it was a terrible mishandling of evidence and the allowing of race to become a defense that allowed O.J. to walk away free.

Many of his closest friends now believe that he committed the murders. He eventually did serve time for armed robbery and lost a civil case against the families of Nicole and Ron. He is now out of jail and living as a free man. I hope that this terrible flaw in the justice system will never repeat itself again. O.J. may be free today but I believe this documentary did a great job at teaching people what went wrong so that hopefully it won’t ever happen again.

Never have I imagined living a life without sports. Sports are a part of my daily routine. I am constantly watching ESPN, watching highlights, or reading about some breaking news involving trades and free agency. I also work with Mississippi State Athletics in the Fan Experience/Outbound ticket sales department so I am constantly thinking the upcoming football season and how the baseball team is doing. I look forward to this time of the year because of all the great action there is in sports. About two weeks ago I was getting off work, looking forward to going into work the next day, because it was gonna be a chill day at the office. We planned on getting some work done, but also catching some of the SEC basketball tournament games. That is when everything seemed to turn upside down.

COVID-19 took over our lives and put everything on hold. First, the conference tournament games for both men and women’s basketball may be played without fans. Then, in the blink of an eye, power five conferences started cancelling their tournaments. Before you knew it, the NCAA canceled all sporting events. The NCAA basketball tournament was cancelled. I was in total shock, and still kinda am. Think about how people will be looking back in the record books in 30 years and ask “How come it says there was no national champion in the 2019-2020 season?” March Madness was canceled. So began March Sadness.

In the following days the NBA and all other professional sports leagues announced they were suspending the season indefinitely. Businesses started closing and people were out of jobs and told to go home and stay there. All sports were either canceled or postponed. I have never seen anything like this, but I don’t think anyone has. Sports were to never stop, but that is exactly what has happened. I left Starkville thinking everything would calm down in a week or so and life would be back to normal. I was sadly mistaken. Things have only gotten worse and it doesn’t seem like this pandemic will be ending anytime soon.

Now my whole daily routine has been switched up along with millions of other Americans. Sports are a major part of this country and are the reason that millions are employed. Sport is the reason i am employed. There are still sports to watch, but they aren’t live and they just do not fill that void. Having ESPN Plus has been a good way to pass some time and escape from the terrible reality of the coronavirus. I am tired of seeing the news and hearing “social distancing” and “self quarantine”. The news seems to insight more fear and panic so I don’t watch much of it. I have watched a lot of highlights from players in the past and present. All while waiting for the future to get here quickly. I’ll admit, I have spent an ungodly amount of hours playing video games and watching TV, but what else is there to do? Netflix and TV shows have kept me busy. I have been staying on top of my school work. My grades will definitely prosper from all of this. That may be the only good thing that comes from all of this mess. I have been able to work from home so I am still making money and that helps me pass the time. Working makes me miss sports more than anything though. I miss watching March Maddens. I am gonna miss watching The Masters this at this time of the year. The weather is pretty but we can’t seem to really enjoy it. I wanna be at a Mississippi State baseball game right now eating a hamburger and cheering on the Bulldogs, but here we are. Staring at our phones and TVs. Waiting for our sports to be back on. Waiting for the world to start spinning right again.

Although I miss my friends back in Starkville and I miss going out and doing whatever I want, all this has slowed me down and made me realize how blessed I am. You really don’t know how blessed you are until something like this happens. Millions of Americans filed for unemployment last week alone. I am thankful for MSU athletics and that I can still work my job from home. I have been enjoying spending more time with my family and seeing people I don’t get to see that much. This hasn’t been the best of times but we will make it through it. We are all bored but at least we are all bored together. Sports will come back and the stores and restaurants will open again. Our normal lives will be restored but maybe just not as soon as we want them to. Until then, stay safe and Hail State!

Well of course they should be able to! College athletes should have the opportunity (if the talent is there) to enter the draft as soon as they walk across that stage and are awarded their high school diploma. Now, this used to be a thing. Back in the years between 1995 and 2005 some of the league’s all-time greats were drafted at the bright and young age of 18 years old! Legends like Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Tracy McGrady, and Kevin Garnett just to name a few. These guys at the time couldn’t buy alcohol but could compete for an NBA title and make millions of dollars in the process. That is astonishing. Most guys at 18 are just partying their way through their first semester of college and living off ramen noodles. Such a cliché but partly true.

If these players have the talent at such a young age, then what on earth is the reason for making them go through at least one year of college? Some argue that these “kids” aren’t ready for that huge change in play-style and atmosphere. The reality that going from the “big man on campus” at the high school level to a young and fresh kid on an NBA team that is full of bigger, tougher, and more experienced men is a tremendous change of “normalcy”. But this may not be such a bad thing. If these are young adults that have the talent to play at the pro level, then reality is they have already been in the spotlight and are used to the kind of attention and exploitation that NBA stars are used to. Take Zion Williamson for instance. You could watch him play in his high school games on ESPN! People have been raging about this guy for years. Countless of his flashy dunks and highlights have been on major sport social media pages for years. He was used to all the attention.

The way the game is played at the NBA level is a lot different than the college level and especially high school level. College is a great steppingstone to learning the game in more depth and really honing your skill, but aren’t the best trainers and staff in the NBA? Isn’t that why we call it the pros? These teams have million-dollar budgets that allow them to pay the best physical trainers and best coaches that are out there. It seems that a player that has shown the ability to compete at the highest level of basketball would want the best of the best training him and pushing him to become a better athlete. Now for those players that aren’t quite ready for the jump to play against NBA teams, but still show tremendous talent, there is another option other than college. The NBA G league. This is a league all about development. NBA caliber staff but more focused on growing and challenging these players. Preparing them to be play minutes against the best of the best and having the endurance to last an 82-game season. College is important, but so are these young athletes and they shouldn’t be forced to go to college if they just want to play basketball.

In 2005 the rule was set that you had to be 19 years of age to play in the NBA and the “One and done” rule was born. Pick a random college, play basketball for a year while keeping up your grades and following academic policy, all of this with the NCAA breathing down your neck and watching you like a hawk. Sounds great doesn’t it? The NCAA is notorious for chomping its teeth down on schools for violations and misconduct. Lots of the time it’s over money. See, an athlete can be shoved in the spotlight and used by the university to make tons of money and grow their fan base, but the player can not use any of his own likeness for making cash himself. Slack in school because you are focusing too much on practicing and playing games, and you can find yourself on the bench because you haven’t kept your grades up. Any players dream is to make it to the NBA. They want to get paid! Why have to play a year in college and risk injury or violations if they could just go straight to the NBA and get started on their rookie contract.

Education is very important and should be taken seriously because it has a direct effect on the amount of money you could be making in the future and the career you will have. That is what it is all about right? Making good money and working a job you love? Why not have that opportunity at the earliest age possible. An NBA player’s livelihood depends on their performance on the court. Injuries could kill a career and stunt that income. Risking injury for a year by playing basketball at the college level when this athlete knows they will be entering the draft soon and have a contract making millions shouldn’t be risk they have to take. A lot of these players don’t come from rich and wealthy households and often need to make money to help provide for their family. If they had the opportunity to go straight to the NBA and sign a multi-million-dollar contract with their sought-after talent, they would. If they get injured their first year in the league at least they are still guaranteed the amount they signed for. A college education isn’t going anywhere. You can always go back to college, but you only get a once in a lifetime shot at being a professional athlete.

What was once allowed should be allowed again. The NBA had it right in the years before 2005 by allowing the entry of athletes of the age of 18. If the talent is there, don’t stop it. Legend alumnus of the big college programs don’t like seeing great talent come in for one year and leave the next. The “One and done” rule isn’t very popular among most schools. Let these top talent athletes try for the NBA if they feel they can make it and that way the colleges get the more serious and dedicated athletes to their programs. Win, win. Case closed.