O.J. Simpson, former football star accused and acquitted of murder, has died

The star’s family announced that he died Wednesday following a battle with cancer on Simpson’s official X account on Thursday.

“On April 10th, our father, Orenthal James Simpson, succumbed to his battle with cancer. He was surrounded by his children and grandchildren,” the announcement reads. “During this time of transition, his family asks that you please respect their wishes for privacy and grace.”

Simpson was professionally known for his successful athletic career with the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers, as well as his acting career in projects like the Naked Gun trilogy and The Towering Inferno.

Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson, to whom he was married from 1985 to 1992, was found stabbed to death outside her Brentwood condo alongside friend Ron Goldman on June 12, 1994. Simpson was charged with the murders when investigators found a glove with blood stains on the athlete’s property. Simpson’s 11-month murder trial in 1994-95 was one of the most widely publicized events in American history. The jury ultimately acquitted Simpson of the murders, and the verdict announcement was watched by as many as 100 million people stateside.

O.J. Simpson died at the age of 76