In an interview with The Athletic, OJ Simpson says that he was skeptical about him surviving at all after COVID-19 left him gasping for air.

“When I had COVID, I almost couldn’t get out of bed. I made it to my balcony, trying to breathe. I couldn’t catch my breath,” Simpson said in the interview.

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“I felt vulnerable and for the first time thought I might be near the end,” he added.  Simpson, who was accused of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Simpson in 1995, said that he began thinking about what might happen if he died.

“Since that day, I have wondered. Do I want to be buried? Do I want to be cremated? Years ago, I would have left it up to Nicole because I know she would have done the right thing,” he said.

Fred Goldman, the father of Ron Goldman, the 25-year-old who was found murdered along with Nicole Simpson outside her house, said that it was a shame that OJ did not succumb to the virus. 

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“Out of all the people who’ve passed away from COVID, what a shame he wasn’t one of them,’ Goldman added ‘I certainly don’t’ think he deserves any sympathy. He’s alive, he’s free. He can do anything he wants. Everything my son can’t do.”

Simpson was found not guilty of the brutal murder of his wife Nicole Brown in 1995, but he did serve nine years in jail for his role in an armed memorabilia heist at a Las Vegas casino and is currently on probation.

According to Simpson, his brush with COVID-19 was the only adversity he faced, otherwise he is leading an enviable existence. 

“How many Americans, even today, wouldn’t like to live my life?” Simpson asked.

“I don’t work. I play golf four or five days a week. I go out to dinner a couple of nights with friends. People want to buy me drinks. I’m always taking pictures with people. Ladies hug me. I’m living a good life now,” he added.

The 74-year-old former sportsman is still facing a multimillion-dollar monetary judgement after a civil jury found him responsible for the murder of his ex-wife and Goldman’s son, but his NFL and Screen Actors Guild pensions are protected from court orders, according to the Daily News.

With his wrongful death case in 1997, Goldman pursued the unanimous 1997 civil verdict and then relentlessly pursued his $30 million awards from the litigation.

Goldman went further to obtain the rights to OJ’s 2007 book ‘If I Did It,’ along with extorting money from him by way of seizing his beloved trophies and footballs.

“We went after him whenever we saw an opportunity to take something away. There’s a sense of satisfaction knowing that our efforts over the years may have contributed to him committing armed robbery,” Goldman told the Daily News.