OJ Simpson + All-Pro Football 2K8 mascot = Drama

by Alexander Sliwinski { Jul 20th 2007 at 4:45PM }

This is one of those instances when all the right pieces get put together and make for sensational news. It turns out that in the recently released All-Pro Football 2K8 from 2K Sports, part of publicity magnet Take-Two Interactive, features OJ Simpson. Well, that might be an issue for some people who consider the man a murderer, but it gets better. There's also a team called The Assassins in the game. Now, when you combine those two elements you get the video above: OJ Simpson making a touchdown and the Assassin mascot making a stabbing motion. 2K says it's pure coincidence, but boy is it dramatic enough to get people's panties in a twist.

We contacted 2K Sports and they said there were discussions about keeping OJ Simpson out of the game, but it eventually ended up that being a football legend, the man deserved to be in there. As for the whole Assassin thing, they didn't have an NFL license and consequently made up team names, one of them being the Assassins. They say you go through the character selection screen and you can make the team any way you want, it just happened that the two elements put together make for an incredibly awkward moment. Now, here is the key element to all of this: We asked, "Did 2K make the video for GameTrailers, therefore it being possible for [2K] to be implicated as having some hand in creating controversy?"

The 2K Sports spokesperson said, "No, to the best of my knowledge, we didn't make that video." A second call from 2K Sports confirms that they did not make the video.

So, if the drama does escalate from this point, it'll either be due to 2K having actually made the video, or people riding the wave of outrage over OJ Simpson's appearance in the game.

[Via GamePolitics]

Update: 2K Sports states clearly they did not make the video.

Tags: 2kgames, 2ksport, allstarfootball2k8, controversy, ojsimpson, taketwo

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

The Boo @ Jul 20th 2007 4:49PM

That's 100% comedy gold.

dpad @ Jul 20th 2007 4:50PM

"that might be an issue for some people who consider the man a murderer..."

You mean, there's still people who actually think he didn't do it?

Anyways, this was in poor taste - very poor taste.

jimy @ Jul 20th 2007 4:51PM

And to think, EA is gonna murder the competition with MADDEN.

hvnlysoldr @ Jul 20th 2007 4:52PM

That's not irony. It's just a coincidence.

hvnlysoldr @ Jul 20th 2007 4:51PM

But does it have Bo Jackson?

spoo @ Jul 20th 2007 4:53PM

Bo Knows!

Ryoga Vee @ Jul 20th 2007 4:52PM

Show me the scene where he starts stabbing people.
"Simpson! :: Stab :: Simpson :: Stab ::"
Then you can unlock his other costume with the bloody glove.

hvnlysoldr @ Jul 20th 2007 4:53PM

No beer and no TV make [Simpson] something something.

Go crazy?

Don't mind if I do!

Tony @ Jul 20th 2007 4:52PM

It would happen to any player on the team that made a good play. I don't see what the big deal is.

Jack @ Jul 21st 2007 4:00PM

What do you you mean you don't see what the big deal is? OJ murdered two people with a knife. In the video the mascot is making a stabbing motion after a Simpson play and on a team called The Assassins. I suspect this game will be changed and the Assassins name and/or mascot will be removed and anything else that can be used for such manipulative purposes.

Dr. Strangel0ve @ Jul 20th 2007 4:53PM

Funniest game ever? YES

eldee @ Jul 20th 2007 5:00PM

Ultimately, the only person on the planet who can legally get offended and have 2K Games change the game is OJ Simpson. He was acquitted of all charges, and whether or not that was the right judgment, it's still the law in this country. The fact that the 'folks at home' have a different opinion of the ruling judge and jury involved in the case does not give them license to pressure 2K to change the game, regardless of whether or not he's a media pariah.

The only course of action consumers could take is to boycott the game, and I can tell you right now that it won't happen because people who buy football games do not give a flying shit about some controversy from 15 years ago.

Mr Khan @ Jul 20th 2007 5:05PM

Well he was found guilty in the Civil Trial, so couldn't the winners of that trial also file some kind of complaint?

Also, back in the day i thought he was innocent (although i was little at the time) but his arrogant attitude in the latter years has all but proven his guilt

Race Cases ftl (or win, if you found his humiliation of our justice system funny)

Jake @ Jul 20th 2007 5:00PM

My main question is if OJ is on the Assassin's team by default. If that is the case, this is definately not a coincidence. The only people that won't find this funny are oversensitive douches and any friends and family to the innocent people OJ murdered.

He is currently walking proof that what goes around doesn't always come around. I pray for the day he gets his junk severed in a car accident with some drunk lawyer.

quinn1992 @ Jul 20th 2007 5:02PM

OJ DIDN'T KILL ANYONE PERIOD!!!!!

DrXym @ Jul 20th 2007 5:02PM

American football must rank with cricket and baseball as the most tediously boring sports game to watch on TV or play on a console. Who the hell buys this crap? I can't say I'm a fan of football (proper football) or rugby but they sure as hell beat American football.

blooh @ Jul 20th 2007 5:26PM

that's funny, i feel the opposite way

razer @ Jul 20th 2007 10:39PM

and the other football(soccer) is NOT boring?? Wow, cultural divide at it's finest.

What would be really fun to see is take the American Football players and pit them against the European football players. Would be funny to watch those skinny mofos run while the american players plow over them..

Jose @ Jul 20th 2007 5:02PM

What ever, he was found innocent, last time I checked. This is pure coincidence. It's not like they'd leave Pete Rose out of an all-time all-star baseball game, and he did those things of which he as accused.

Jack @ Jul 21st 2007 4:00PM

No, sorry he may have been found innocent but that doesn't mean he didn't do it. Oh, and he was acquitted not found innocent. There's no such thing as being found innocent. You're either guilty or acquitted. Innocence and acquittal are the same thing. There were so many facts that when they come together they prove he did it that you could write a book on the subject and many have. He was found guilty in the civil trial, so they had a jury there that wasn't biased or paid off or whatever else you'd like to accuse those clueless bastards of.

AvidAbey @ Aug 4th 2007 2:14PM

@Jack: Exactly... Guilty until proven innocent, or guilty until acquitted, right? It's good to see so many people understand how the justice system should work.

DG @ Jul 20th 2007 5:08PM

No, OJ Simpson didn't "deserve" to be in this game. Yes, he was a good football player. But he was convicted in a civil trial of being responsible for the deaths of Ron and Nicole. While he had no criminal convictions, he does have some legal culpability in their deaths.

And even then. Video games appearances aren't a divine right. Bad behaviors should force differences in cultural appreciations, and Americans on average clearly despise OJ. The smart, courageous thing to do would have been to keep him completely out of the game. There are several other well-known HBs that could have easily filled the same role.

And that Assassin's stabbing thing was especially chilling. Wow.

eldee @ Jul 20th 2007 6:32PM

The civil case was a joke.. by the time it had come to trial, the "OJ Simpson Media Circus" was a household name. Just try finding a lawyer, judge, or anybody else who hadn't already formed an opinion on the situation.

Jake @ Jul 20th 2007 5:08PM

But dude, OJ actually did kill those people. He had a disguise, money, and a gun and was running for Mexico before the police even announced that they wanted to arrest him. This son of a bitch doesn't even feel bad about killing them either. He's sick.

Oh, and what about the mother of the woman he murdered. Don't you think she'd be a little offended by yet another joke made about the grizzly murder of her baby girl?

eldee @ Jul 20th 2007 6:34PM

WOW DOOD U SHULD B ON CSI, UR SO SM4RT.

Seriously, if a 12 month deliberation and a panel of judges and juries found him innocent, you really think your "SURF'D DA WEB AN FOUND OUT" evidence really proves anything?

Jake @ Jul 20th 2007 5:13PM

There is a slight difference between betting on baseball and murdering two people in cold blood. OJ had a disguise, money, and a gun, and was running from the police before they even told him they wanted to arrest him or that they thought he did it.

There was DNA evidence, which was unfortunately not as powerful of evidence back then. You have to be a complete idiot if you are not 100% sure he did it or was involved enough with it to get scared and run from the cops. Innocent people don't run.

The bottom line is that sometimes people commit crimes and get away with it. That is just the way it is. But we don't have to believe for a second that he is innocent. He is a murderer.

hvnlysoldr @ Jul 20th 2007 5:29PM

@Jake
As satirized on South Park's Meet the Jeffersons, the white sheriff says it's because a cop said the n word too many times at the case. While it's true a cop did say that several times at the case there is no clear situation if some evidence was planted or properly handled. And whether or not that the racism card played into innocent charges.

tcc3 @ Jul 20th 2007 5:46PM

Not to defend Simpson specifically, but "innocent people don't run" is the sort of thing tyrants who cant be bothered to try people say.

Basing guilt on that alone runs completely against our justice philosophy.

File this with "If you've done nothing wrong then you won't mind if I illegally wiretap all your calls without a warrant." and "Why do you need a lawyer, only guilty people need lawyers."

muppetmeth @ Jul 20th 2007 5:18PM

Are we being Juiced?

I haven't laughed that hard in a while.

hvnlysoldr @ Jul 20th 2007 5:22PM

It all started with his part in the Naked Gun series. No one knew that he secretly had an affair with the actress. I'm just making that up.

Alex K @ Jul 20th 2007 5:26PM

whether or not you believe he's guilty, he was acquitted and the ruling is final. so legally, there's no reason for him to be kept out of all pro football. he WAS a football legend. can we just move on? in the time that we argue and talk about OJ, there have probably been dozens of lower profile criminals getting away with murder.

Truepatriot @ Jul 20th 2007 5:27PM

OJ deserves to be there he is a legend.and he was found NOT GUILTY.this video was funny.i didnt lose sleep over his wifes death.....just saying.

Paul P. @ Jul 20th 2007 5:27PM

The only thing offensive about this game is its lack of Bo Jackson. The man co-starred in a Saturday morning cartoon with Jordan and Gretsky for godsakes! And is the fastest man the Tecmo cup has ever known.

deaftly @ Jul 20th 2007 5:27PM

the juice is loose!

Steve @ Jul 20th 2007 5:29PM

Don't get me wrong, I love this and strongly believe that O.J. should be constantly reminded that his supporters really are the dumbest among us. That said, how can 2K Sports legally put O.J. into this game? Wouldn't they need permission from all the athletes? I highly doubt O.J. would grant them permission to do this, but I also doubt that O.J. has the balls to return to the public spotlight with a lawsuit. He recently received a massive b*tchslap from the public when he tried to publish that book. It's funny; American society has forgotten about the danger terrorists pose to our way of life, hell most even side with them over our own military anymore, but we still remember O.J.! What is it about O.J. that he can even interest someone like me who is above celebrity related worship and gossip?

Now 2K Sports needs to make a golf game where you can play as O.J. as he plays the golf courses of America in search of the real killers!

hvnlysoldr @ Jul 20th 2007 6:22PM

Rumor says they paid him $25k to $125k USD.

Jeff @ Jul 20th 2007 5:35PM

"OJ deserves to be there he is a legend.and he was found NOT GUILTY.t"

He was also found responsible for the deaths in a civil court. And he has been trying to hide his money and shirk his legal responsibilities ever since. He's a scumbag for that even if you're going to use the criminal court verdict as somehow indicative of anything other than the fact this his lawyers were better than the prosecutor.

And come on, are you saying you want to be in the same room as this guy? What if somebody put a knife on the table between you? Then told him you slept with his wife?

Truepatriot @ Jul 20th 2007 5:42PM

lol i wouldnt want to be in ANY room with a man, a knife, and being accused of sleeping with his wife.what a fucking stupid scenario.now if it was me and oj in a room sure why not?i dont have an irrational fear of people found not guilty of murder XD.

WiNG @ Jul 20th 2007 5:43PM

well here's my 2 cents:

1. Including OJ is not inherently wrong. The game is about football, and he played it. The game does not outright condone or even mention his other history (proven or otherwise)
2. Including a team called the assassins is not inherently wrong, though the stabbing is a bit over the top.
3. Making OJ placable on the assassins is not inherently wrong. Making him the only player to not be draftable by them would make no sense. Putting him on the team by default is mean spirited to OJ and the families of the victims.
4. Making this video to either poke fun at OJ/victims or to try to get Take2 in trouble (if T2 didn't make it for real) is a horrible idea.

Thus ends this edition of thoughts by WiNG

That deaf guy @ Jul 20th 2007 5:51PM

Only way I'd think this was a problem is if O.J. catches a pass while driving a white bronco down the field plowing the other team down and doing a donut in the end zone. That's just me, as for the slashing thing I thought it was sweet now if only the NFL had teams with mascots like that.

ju-ju @ Jul 20th 2007 5:53PM

The first TD I scored was with OJ playing for the Assassins. The stadium giant made that stabbing motion, but even worse (or funnier, given your perspective) OJ made a "slash the throat" gesture to celebrate!

horngreen @ Jul 20th 2007 6:11PM

If he gets any royalties from having his murdering mug in this game hopefuly they will go to the Goldman family as he was foung guilty in the civil suit.

hvnlysoldr @ Jul 20th 2007 6:24PM

Rumor says they paid him USD $25k to $125k.

Chris @ Jul 20th 2007 6:13PM

@DrXym
Feel better? Got that off your chest? Good.

Damn, British people are so bitter! "It's not real football. The American version of the office isn't funny. they copied us." Don't get me wrong, I'd be pissed too if I got the shaft from the video game industry (game releases taking forever, no break on console price, the country banning games) but quit bitching.

DrXym @ Jul 20th 2007 6:32PM

Did you read what I said? I included cricket as a boring sport. Cricket is as boring as it gets.

I can semi-understand watching these games, but playing simulations of them? What a sad person you must be. Seriously.

Chris @ Jul 20th 2007 7:25PM

You'd think I'd be a sad person, being so judgmental of Brits and all. It must show in my writing. These opinions of mine.. they just eat at my soul. I think I might seek counseling.

Seriously though, I did read your comment. You just sparked this frustration I have about British people bitching about the most inane things. And I hate it when they call me a "yank." Makes me think they're calling me a wanker. ;-)

Anyway, sorry if I offended you or something. Everyone has to vent.