MIAMI – O.J. Simpson is alive, well and a model inmate.
That was the response from the Nevada Department of Corrections after the National Enquirer reported on its website that the former football star turned inmate had suffered “stroke-like symptoms” while in prison.
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“He’s fine,” corrections spokesman Steve Suwe said Tuesday. “There is no truth to that article.”
In fact, Suwe said, he’s a model inmate. Simpson has had no recent medical incidents and works a job in the gym, where typical duties include sweeping floors, mopping and picking up equipment.
“He’s a model inmate. He has a job. He goes to work. He does his job and stays out of trouble,” Suwe said, “like we hope everyone does while in here.”
Simpson’s prison sentence began in December 2008. It followed a conviction for his part leading a group of armed men into a memorabilia dealer’s guest room at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas on Sept. 13, 2007.
Once inside, prosecutors said, Simpson ordered that no one leave the room while his men took dozens of items. Simpson said the items were stolen from him, and he wanted them back.
It was a stark contrast to the way Americans had once pictured him, the successful National Football League running back who made people laugh in the “Naked Gun” movies and pitched to them in commercials.
Then came the 1994 killing of his ex-wife and her friend in Los Angeles, charges that Simpson was involved in their deaths and the infamous white Bronco chase.
Simpson was found not guilty in the case, although a civil court later ordered him to pay $33.5 million to the relatives of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
After the murder trial, Simpson moved to Miami-Dade County, living in Kendall until the Las Vegas arrest.
On Monday, the Enquirer reported that Simpson was chatting with fellow inmates at the Lovelock Correctional Center’s recreation area when his speech became slurred. He then slumped over and fell off his chair, complaining of double vision and weakness in his arms, the tabloid said.
Totally untrue, Suwe said.
But the tabloid might have been on to something when it claimed Simpson was “the star of the prison.” At the very least, according to Suwe, he’s setting a good example.
The earliest he could be released, Suwe said, is late 2017.
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