His father's sexuality has been called into question,
The highly-anticipated O.J.: Made in America premiered on ABC Saturday night, and revealed a number of surprising facts about O.J.'s early life and career.
Born in San Francisco, O.J. moved to Los Angeles when he was recruited by USC to play football. LA is where he would spend much of his life, including his trial for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.
Childhood friends told tales of a smooth-talking young O.J. who could always get himself out of trouble with authorities. He even managed to steal his best friend Al Cowlings's girlfriend and later married her. But Simpson and Cowlings remained close; Cowlings was the one behind the wheel of the infamous white Bronco that was chased by police following the murders.
Simpson also sat out most of the civil rights movement at a time when others, like Muhammad Ali, were standing up for equality and sacrificing their careers in the process.
Some of the most shocking revelations came toward the end of the two-hour premiere when a childhood friend, Calvin Tennyson, said that he once found Simpson's father, Jimmy Lee Simpson, with another man. Both men were wearing only bathrobes, leading to questions about Jimmy Lee's sexuality, which O.J. never discussed. Jimmy Lee died in 1986 from complications related to AIDS. "Back in our day, [being gay] was the worst thing in the world that you could ever think about," childhood friend Joe Bell recalled.
O.J. first saw Nicole at a dance club and told his friend, "I'm gonna marry that girl," despite the fact that he was already married. O.J.'s first date with Nicole Brown, whom he would later marry, showed early signs of things to come.
When Nicole returned home from their first date, her friend remembered, Nicole's jeans were torn and she was rattled. O.J. had been "a little forceful," Nicole said, but the two continued to date. The rest, as they say, is history.
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