O.J. Simpson’s Planned Visit to CSUF Class Is Put on Hold

A Cal State Fullerton professor who asked O.J. Simpson to speak to his criminology class has dropped the invitation but says he may reissue it if logistics can be resolved.

Professor James Lasley said he invited Simpson through a mutual friend who is a professional athlete. Simpson was tentatively going to speak to the criminology and delinquency class on Wednesday.

“He’s a walking criminology lesson,” said Lasley, who pointed out that the textbook he uses has a chapter on the Simpson case.

Simpson was acquitted of the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman but was found liable in a subsequent civil case.

“I think it would be great for the university,” Lasley said. “Most of my students are asleep. I’ve never seen the place come so alive” as when he told them Simpson would be coming to class.

But Lasley said Phillip Gianos, acting chairman of the division of political science and criminal justice, had concerns about the visit. The two agreed that there would have to be extra security and planning for an overflow crowd.

Gianos said he was not trying to quash Simpson’s appearance and that he supports speakers of all viewpoints on campus. “Controversy is what we do here,” he said.

Simpson has addressed college classes before. Two years ago, he slipped into a UC Irvine seminar on his case taught by William Thompson, a member of his criminal defense team. After the school paper wrote about his appearance, the university was bombarded with angry phone calls and letters.