LaVergne shared that no uncovering of a possible CTE diagnosis in Simpson will occur as the long-retired football star’s body will be cremated.
O.J. Simpson’s executor, Malcolm LaVergne, confirmed that the controversial football great’s body will be cremated and his brain will not be studied for a chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).
LaVergne said no parts of Simpson will be donated for scientific research, NBC News reports, even though there have invitations. “On at least one occasion, someone has called saying he’s a CTE guy who studies the brain,” said LaVergne,
According to the National Health Service, CTE is degenerative brain disease often caused by repeated injuries to the head and can lead to behavioral issues. In past years, CTE has been linked to some former football players. LaVerge emphasized that such a study will not happen.
“That’s a hard no,” he shared. “His entire body, including his brain, will be cremated.”
LaVergne anticipates contesting claims made by Ron Goldman’s family, which is owed $33.5 million from a 1997 wrongful death judgment. A jury found Simpson liable for Goldman’s death in the civil trial despite his acquittal of the criminal charges.
LaVergne originally wanted the Goldmans gaining nothing from Simpson’s estate, but the lawyer has since retracted that statement.
“In hindsight, in response to that statement that ‘It’s my hope they get zero, nothing,’ I think that was pretty harsh,” he said. “Now that I understand my role as the executor and the personal representative, it’s time to tone down the rhetoric and really get down to what my role is as a personal representative…We can get this thing resolved in a calm and dispassionate manner.”
In the meantime, Simpson’s estate will set aside funds for a “suitable monument” at a gravesite despite his cremation. An exclusive service for friends and family is also in the works.
Simpson, who post-football career was marked by his role in arguably the nation’s biggest murder trial of the twentieth century, died from cancer last week. He was 76.
Source: Black Enterprise
