O.J. Simpson will live in Florida after he is released on parole from a Nevada prison where he has been held for the past nine years for a robbery conviction, his lawyer said Friday.
FILE - In this July 20, 2017, file photo, former NFL football star O.J. Simpson enters for his parole hearing at the Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nev. (Jason Bean/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP, Pool, File)
Attorney Malcolm LaVergne didn't specify where the former sports and movie star would live, although Tom Scotto, a close friend who lives in Naples, Florida, has offered his home. Scotto didn't respond to messages seeking comment.
"He's going to Florida," LaVergne said. "There's no doubt he's going to Florida."
However, the state attorney general doesn't want Simpson to come back. Attorney General Pam Bondi sent a letter Friday to the Florida Department of Corrections, urging it to tell Nevada officials that Florida objects to Simpson serving his parole in the southern state.
FILE - In this July 20, 2017 file photo, former NFL football star O.J. Simpson reacts after learning he was granted parole at Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nev. (Jason Bean/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP, Pool, File)
"Floridians are well aware of Mr. Simpson's background, his wanton disregard for the lives of others, and of his scofflaw attitude with respect to the heinous acts for which he has been found civilly liable," Bondi said in the letter. "Our state should not become a country club for this convicted criminal."
Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles. But he was found liable for their deaths in a civil case in 1997 and ordered to pay the victims' families $33.5 million.
Florida corrections officials have said in the past that they must accept the transfer if Nevada's request meets the established criteria. A Florida corrections spokeswoman, Ashley Cook, said her agency has not received a transfer request or documents about Simpson.
FILE - This Oct. 1, 2008 file photo Tom Scotto testifies during O.J. Simpson's trial at the Clark County Regional Justice Center, in Las Vegas. O.J. Simpson will live in Florida following his parole from a Nevada state prison where the former football star and celebrity criminal defendant has been held for the last nine years.(Jessica Ebelhar/Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool,File)
He becomes eligible for release Sunday, but LaVergne said he doesn't know where or when it will happen. He expects to learn more when Simpson notifies him that he is being moved from Lovelock Correctional Center in northern Nevada.
Release plans are in motion but need to be finalized for Simpson to be freed, perhaps as early as Monday in Las Vegas, Nevada prisons official Brooke Keast said. Citing safety concerns, she said the plans were not being made public.
Simpson's attorney said he will begin pressing for answers if his client is not free by Oct. 8. LaVergne said he spoke with Simpson by telephone Thursday and that he is excited about his pending freedom.
FILE - This May 16, 2013 file photo Malcolm LaVergne, O.J. Simpson's attorney on appeals to the Nevada Supreme Court, testifies during an evidentiary hearing testimony for Simpson in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas. LaVergne said Friday, Sept. 29, 2017.(Jeff Scheid, /Las Vegas Review-Journal via AP, Pool,File)
"He's really looking forward to the simple pleasures," LaVergne said. "Seeing his family on the outside, spending time with them, eating food that's not packaged."
Simpson wants to eat steak and seafood and get a new iPhone, LaVergne told ABC's "Good Morning America."
Simpson won parole in July after serving nine years of a possible 33-year sentence for his 2008 conviction on armed robbery, kidnapping and other charges.
MIAMI (AP) — Hockey. Outdoors. In Florida.
Next season, the NHL is making it happen — twice.
The NHL announced Wednesday that the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers will play host to the New York Rangers at loanDepot Park in Miami — home of baseball’s Marlins — on Jan. 2, 2026, in the Winter Classic, with the Tampa Bay Lightning playing host to the Boston Bruins at Raymond James Stadium on Feb. 1, 2026, in a Stadium Series game.
“Stanley Cups, strings of sellouts and the exponential growth of youth and high school hockey throughout the state have demonstrated that Florida is a hockey hotbed,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “Outdoor NHL games in the Sunshine State? Never let it be said that our league isn’t willing to accept a challenge.”
It’s a long time coming, but the Panthers and Lightning have represented the Eastern Conference in each of the last five Stanley Cup Finals and they've built heavily engaged fan bases. And both franchises have asked the NHL to bring an outdoor game — or two, in this case — to the Sunshine State for many years.
The league listened.
“To be able to celebrate these two franchises against great Original Six teams, I think, is phenomenal,” Panthers President Matthew Caldwell said. “And I think our time has come. We deserve that outdoor game and we’re fired up to have it right here locally.”
The Marlins’ ballpark, located about a 45-minute drive south of the Panthers' home arena in Sunrise, can hold about 37,000 fans. Raymond James Stadium — home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers — can hold about 65,000 for most events, and capacity can be increased a bit if necessary.
“We couldn’t be more excited for this landmark event to finally arrive for Bolts Nation and the Tampa Bay community,” Lightning CEO Steve Griggs said. “This moment has been a long time coming, and we’re thrilled to see this dream become a reality.”
These will not be ordinary outdoor games.
The high in Miami on Jan. 2 this year was 78. The high in Tampa last year on Feb. 1 was 66. Those temperatures aren't conducive to finding ice outside. And the high game-time temperature for any of the previous outdoor games in NHL history, the league said, was 65 for a game in Denver in 2016.
“We understand it’s risky," said Steve Mayer, the NHL's president of content and events. "I think we like it. And it’s not a challenge. It’s actually an opportunity for us.”
The Marlins' loanDepot Park has a retractable roof and that will play a big role in getting that stadium ready for hockey. The air conditioning will be cranked up — way up — and the Panthers-Rangers game will be played at night with the roof open. For the Lightning-Bruins game inside the open-air stadium in Tampa, the NHL will build a temporary roof over the ice surface and remove it just a few hours before game time.
“We want to bring a little bit of a winter wonderland to Florida,” Mayer said.
The games in 2026 will be the 44th and 45th regular-season outdoor contests in NHL history. The Rangers are 5-0-0 in their previous outdoor games, Boston has won four of its five outdoor games and the Lightning prevailed in their only outdoor contest. The Panthers have never played such a game.
“We get to expand our great sport," Panthers general manager and hockey operations president Bill Zito said. "We have a chance to have 100,000 people watching hockey live, outside, in Florida. That's unthinkable. And the exciting part and the fun part is it’s growing. It’s getting bigger. More and more people are becoming hockey fans in Florida."
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
FILE - a general view of Raymond James Stadium during an NFL football game between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Doug Murray, FIle)
FILE - The roof is open during an interleague opening day baseball game between the Miami Marlins and the Detroit Tigers, Tuesday, April 5, 2016, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)
The Chicago Blackhawks and St. Louis Blues face off at center ice during the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game at Wrigley Field, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Fans celebrate after a goal by the Chicago Blackhawks against the St. Louis Blues during the third period of the NHL Winter Classic outdoor hockey game at Wrigley Field, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) celebrates with teammates after the team defeated the Carolina Hurricanes in an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)
Florida Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight (30) celebrates with the team after defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins in a shootout at an NHL hockey game, Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
