Author Robert Lipsyte Talks O.J. Simpson Documentary, Hanging Out With O.J.

New York Times reporter Robert Lipsyte, who was featured in ESPN’s O.J. Simpson docu-series, joins the show to give his thoughts on the television event. Related: Broadcaster Roy Firestone Talks ‘Chummy’ O.J. Simpson Interview, ESPN’s Docu-series Read a couple excerpts and listen to the full interview below: Why do you think the O.J. Simpson story and murder trial still so riveting to our society? “I had a revelation the last couple weeks. I’ve spent the last couple weeks totally immersed in Muhammad Ali. It suddenly occurred to me that you really get a better idea of who Ali was to white American society once you understand what O.J. was. O.J. was the anti-Ali. He was the non-threatening (black guy) He was a sports star who was not going to (question the establishment). He was this totally sweet, cooperative, friendly guy who just wanted to be an honorary white man.” Did O.J. not like the fact you kind of saw who he was before anyone else did? “With O.J., you were really dealing with an oblivious personality. I don’t know if you call it denial…whether you call it psychopath. I don’t know. I just remember…the very first time I spent real time with him was in Joe Namath’s bar, Bachelor’s III. Howard Cosell had taken us there to meet Joe Namath. After a while it got late and I stayed there drinking…with O.J. He was drinking ginger ale. It’s getting later and later and it’s obvious Namath is in the bar somewhere…and he knows O.J. is in the bar but he’s not coming right over. Namath keeps circling the bar. O.J. says, with the entitlement of a lord, ‘No…you never rush the great ones.’ Then he kind of looks around and he kind of makes condescending fun of Joe’s bar. I asked him if he would ever own a bar and he said, ‘No, that kind of thing is for guys like Joe.’ He just kept putting him down. Then he goes into the famous story that he’d been at the wedding of a teammate…he was sitting at a table where most of the people were African-American teammate. A white woman (then whispers to him to come sit with them, that he doesn’t have to sit with the (black players)). When he said that, I kind of jumped a little bit. I said, ‘Wow, that’s terrible, you must have felt bad.’ Then he kind of looked at me with condescension…and said, ‘Noooo…I felt good. She understood that I wasn’t black, I was O.J.’ I understood at that moment that something was really wrong with him.”