ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WKBW) — A state lawmaker from South Buffalo is calling on Terry and Kim Pegula to remove the name of O.J. Simpson from the Wall of Fame at Highmark Stadium.
In a letter to the Pegulas, Assemblyman Patrick Burke said Simpson's character disqualifies him from the right to be recognized alongside the likes of former player Bob Kalsu, who was killed in action in the Vietnam War, and The 12th Man, the affectionate name given to honor the team's loyal fan base.
"While O.J. Simpson was a great player, he is not a person who exemplifies the values of the Buffalo Bills or the Western New York Community," Burke writes. "Spousal abuse, of which Simpson pleaded no contest to in his 1995 trial, is not something that should be tolerated."
Burke's letter addresses Simpson's acquittal in his double murder trial.
"While he was found "not guilty" of the homicide of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman, Simpson was found to be legally responsible for their deaths by a civil jury," he writes. "O.J. Simpson's name remaining on the wall sends a harrowing and distorted message to survivors of domestic violence that abuse is condoned."
OJ Simpson spent years abusing his wife. A civil jury found him responsible for her's and her friend's gruesome deaths. He spent years in prison for armed robbery and kidnapping. Yet, we hold his name in honor? I'm asking @KimPegula to take his name off the Wall of Fame. pic.twitter.com/gL7kGGaDss
— Pat Burke 🦬 (@PatBurkeNY) November 1, 2021
Simpson attended Sunday's game against the Dolphins, and posed for pictures with fans at the window of his suite.
The former running back played for the Bills from 1969 to 1977. His name was the first to be added to the Wall of Fame in 1980, 15 years before he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
7 Eyewitness News has reached out to a Pegula Sports and Entertainment spokesperson for comment.
