OJ Simpson Thought He'd Be 'Feeling Better' Days Before His Death, Friend Reveals
O.J. Simpson thought he would still be able to pursue an appointment he had canceled due to his health before he passed away.
Simpson's longtime friend, Bruce Fromong, spoke with People about the late NFL star. According to Fromong, Simpson, 76, was set to do a signing for the PSA-JSA memorabilia company a week and a half before he died.
Simpson had called to cancel it because he wasn't feeling well. The former athlete was allegedly hopeful that he would still be able to pursue the signing by suggesting that he do it some other time.
"Nah, I just give me a little bit of time. Let me get to feeling better," he reportedly told Fromong.
"I went, 'Huh, it's so bad you can't...,'" Fromong recounted. "Because he enjoyed getting around the guys and signing. That meant he was really not feeling well."
Although Fromong was privy to Simpson's diagnosis, he wasn't aware of how "advanced" his prognosis was. He was also convinced that Simpson had already beat cancer and thought he only "had a cold or flu" when he decided to cancel the signing.
"We thought he was getting better, and he was not," Fromong added, explaining that Simpson didn't tell a lot of people about his diagnosis while noting that they "weren't as close" as they "used to be in the old days either."
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Although the pair had remained friends, Fromong was among those sports memorabilia dealers that Simpson robbed and held up at gunpoint in 2007 at the Las Vegas Palace Station. Simpson was found guilty on 12 charges, including robbery and kidnapping and was sentenced to 33 years in prison.
Fromong later testified to support the release of his pal. Simpson was released from prison in October 2017 and was granted early release from parole in December 2021 for good behavior.
Fromong said he forgave Simpson, and they reconnected after the latter was released from prison. The former football player reportedly thanked him for attending his parole hearing.
The duo would often see each other around Las Vegas to catch up. According to Fromong, the last time he saw Simpson was a couple of months ago at the Aliante Golf Club, and "he looked fine" and "looked like O.J."
