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The OJ Simpson trial paved the way for ‘Keeping Up with the Kardashians,’ TMZ and a slew of questions about race

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6 months ago

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OJ Simpson Trial – theGrio.com

After chasing a slow pace, American media culture quickly gained momentum.

NEW YORK (AP) — The plaintive wail of a dog. A courtroom couplet that became a cultural slogan about gloves. A judge and lawyers who became media darlings and villains. AND barely confused guy briefly elevated to a barely dazed star. Disturbing questions about race it still echoes. The starting of the Kardashian dynasty. Some epic slow motion highway chase. And lest we forget, two people whose lives were brutally ended.

And the nation watched – a very different nation than today, where the voracity for reality television has increased. The mentality of viewers from those confusing days in 1994 and 1995, novel at the time, has since turn into an integral part of the American fabric. The hit was at the center of the national conversation OJ Simpson, one of the most interesting cultural figures in recent US history.

Simpson’s death on Wednesday almost exactly thirty years after the killings that turned his fame from football hero to suspect brought back memories of the strange moment – no, let’s call it what it was, which was profoundly strange – wherein a smartphone-less country craned its neck toward clunky televisions to look at A Ford Bronco speeding down a California highway.

“It was an incredible moment in American history,” Wolf Blitzer said while anchoring CNN’s coverage of Simpson’s death on Thursday. What made this occur – aside from tabloid culture, of course, and the basic news value of such a big name accused of such brutal murders?

In this March 1995 photo, former football star and actor OJ Simpson listens to testimony during his double murder trial in Los Angeles. Kim Kardashian West’s father, Robert Kardashian Sr., was one of his defenders. (Photo: Dan Mircobich/AFP/Getty Images)

A saga awaited by the twenty first century media

At a time when the Internet as we understand it was still in its infancy, when a “platform” was still just a place to board a train, Simpson was a special kind of celebrity. It was truly transmedia, a harbinger of the digital age – a walking, talking crossover story for multiple audiences.

It was a sport – the pinnacle of football perfection. He was a star not only because of his athletic ability, but additionally because of his skills Hertz-hawking runs at airports on TV and acting in movies like “The Naked Gun.” He embodied society’s questions about race, class and money long before the stabbings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman on June 12, 1994.

Then got here the saga, starting with the killings and ending – only technically – in a Los Angeles courtroom over a 12 months later. The most epic of American novels had nothing about this era in the mid-Nineteen Nineties. Americans were watching. Americans talked about watching. Americans debated. Americans assessed. And Americans watched some more.

The multi-generational divide between white and black Americans was not helped by Time magazine’s decision to tactically darken Simpson’s cover photo for dramatic – and many say racist – effect. For those that lived through this era, it’s difficult to recall much in the public sphere that was not displaced by the O.J. storyline and its many elements, including the subsequent civil trial that found Simpson responsible for the death. One newspaper even published a series of possible plot endings written by crime novel authors.

Sure, people said various things. But it was undoubtedly a national conversation.

The nation – and its media – is now rather more divided. Nowadays, Americans rarely gather around a virtual campfire for a shared experience; as an alternative, small bushfires attract area of interest crowds to virtual corners, providing equally intense, but smaller, shared experiences. This week’s eclipse was a rare exception.

In 1994, every day wall-to-wall coverage was still emerging. Sure, we had Walter Cronkite in the process Kennedy’s assassination and again in progress the chaotic 1968 Democratic National Convention. And the first Gulf War in 1991 firmly established expectations for live television. But coverage of the Bronco chase and trial whetted the appetite in a way no other event did. Even now, such widespread viewing is rare.

“The media we consume is much more dispersed now. It’s so rare that we’re all glued to the same spectacle,” said Danielle Lindemann, author of the 2022 book “The True Story: What Reality Television Says About Us.”

“In 1994, we watched our televisions and followed news reports,” Lindemann, a professor of sociology at Lehigh University, wrote in an email. “But there was no parallel discourse going on on social media.”

Connections between then and now

It’s not hard to find connections between the Simpson saga and modern history.

Judges and lawyers dealing with high-profile cases are regularly in the spotlight. One of Simpson’s lawyers, Robert Kardashian, paved the way for the next generation of his family change the face of celebrity action. A local Los Angeles television reporter who covered the case Harvey Levin, then founded TMZ, an incredibly fundamental pillar of modern, multi-platform celebrity coverage – and the channel that broke the news of Simpson’s death.

And of course, like so many American stories, there may be a difficulty of race.

Simpson’s acquittal on murder charges exposed a fundamental error: some blacks welcomed the verdict, while many whites were in disbelief. Simpson probably confuses the matter further over the years, famously saying, “I’m not black. I’m OJ.” But for many black Americans who felt that their interactions with police and courts had produced unfair outcomes, the acquittal was a notable exception.

In this June 17, 1994 file photo, a white Ford Bronco driven by Al Cowlings carrying OJ Simpson is seen being pulled by Los Angeles police cruisers on a Los Angeles highway. (AP Photo/Joseph Villarin, file)

“There was a sense that the only justice was for a rich black man to get out of prison when a rich white man did,” said John Baick, a history professor at Western New England University.

Three a long time later, that conversation is not over – he’s definitely still talking about it with students. On Thursday, Baick invoked Simpson to speak in school about race, fame and wealth; only after its completion did he learn that his subject had died.

A generation has passed since these events were fresh. And after hundreds of hours of film, thousands and thousands of written words and countless talking heads, the OJ Simpson case stands as two things: an American moment like no other, and an interlude that encapsulated a lot of what American culture is and is becoming.

Out of weird old America comes an obsession with brutal true crime and a bizarre forged of film noir villains and heroes, not to say tragedy and mystery. It was also a harbinger of an emerging, fragmented web culture that, in a few years, would give us smartphones, social media, reality TV saturation, and live coverage of just about the whole lot.

Was it, as many loudly said, “the trial of the century”? It’s subjective. But every culture is made of little pieces, and the Simpson case left behind many of them. It’s an indisputable truth: after chasing a slow pace, American media culture has quickly gained momentum. So quickly that many of the case’s central questions – about race, justice, and how we eat murder and misery as just one other set of consumer products – remain unanswered.

“Where does this fit in? What do Americans think about it now?” Baick wonders. “What you think of OJ Simpson may be a litmus test for a long time.”

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Caitlin Clark fans send shocking wave of racist attacks to Dijonai Carrington over eye foul

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2 hours ago

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September 27, 2024

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Caitlin Clark

Connecticut Sun player DiJonai Carrington has quickly grow to be one of the WNBA’s rising stars.

However, Carrington recently shared with the general public a disturbing insight into the backlash she has received over the past few weeks from Caitlin Clark’s fans.

Known for her skills on the court, Carrington won the “Most Improved Player” honor in her fourth season, and recently took to social media to reveal some of the hateful messages she received from Clark’s fans.

Racist Caitlin Clark fans
Some of Caitlin Clark’s fans have issued threats to Dijonai Carrington that they may injure her and attack her with racial slurs. (Photos: Justin Casterline/Getty Images; Mike Lawrie/Getty Images)

On Thursday, September 26, she posted on her Instagram story a threatening email she had received, containing racial slurs and a brutal threat of sexual assault.

The email read: “You worthless nigga, I hope someone scolds you and chops your head off.”

In response, Carrington wrote: “I am unable to make this up. Sent to my email. You will need Jesus.

The post, which has since expired, has sparked widespread concern. One fan caught on and commented, “We need to do a better job of protecting WNBA players.”

The hostility is reportedly linked to supporters of Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark. Many people, mostly her white fanbase, became outraged at the best way Clark was treated on the court – normally directing their outrage at her black opponents.

On Wednesday, September 25, when Clark didn’t like how a fan was harassing her on the court in Game 2 of the primary round of the Indiana-Connecticut playoffs, she grabbed him. ejected. Connecticut won that game at home 87-81 and took the best-of-seven series 2-0.

Clark’s fans have also been vocal in expressing their hatred towards Sun’s Black players by harassing them, but none of their players have managed to eject a fan.

The abuse seemed to escalate more, especially after the Sun eliminated the Fever, denying the Rookie of the Year a probability to make a deeper playoff run in her first season within the league.

During the extraordinary matches, the rivalry reached such a boiling point that some Clark fans repeatedly directed their frustration at Carrington.

“The same people who want to pretend that #CaitlinClark was ‘attacked’ by DiJonai Carrington have nothing to say about Caitlin Clark who came close to ripping out DiJonai’s eye” – one user X he tweeted September 23. “Playing for the ball and pulling the contact back towards someone’s eye and breaking the contact.”

The social media user referenced the primary game of the Fever-Sun series when Carrington poked Clark within the eye in an attempt to block a pass, leaving the rookie’s eye blackened. No foul was called throughout the play and Sun insists it was an accident, although fans imagine she deliberately tried to use her fingernail extensions to injure Clark. Later in the sport, Clark punched Carrington within the face, breaking the Sun player’s contact lens. Carrington was assessed a foul on the play.

Clark also noted that the scratch was “not intentional” and told her fans to watch the show.

The vitriol kept coming.

Another person wrote on Twitter: “I am warning DiJonai fans, the Connecticut Sun and the #WNBA as a whole about this disgusting, pathetic excuse for a human being who is actually praying for Dijonai to get hurt. Block such toxic people to clean your tl. This is EXACTLY what Carrington was talking about,” posting comments like “Dijonai gets hurt, idc. I hate that bitch my whole fucking life.”

The same Clark fan added, “I hope Dijonais’ eye contact is contagious to her,” and “I pray for absolutely the worst for Dijonais. I hate this bitch a lot.

On September 25, a fan who attended the Fever v. Sun game noticed Carrington being taunted with “racist” taunts about her nails and eyelashes.

“I’m at the Sun/Fever match and the atmosphere is terrible,” they are saying he wrote. “A woman behind me mocked DiJonai’s eyelashes and only stopped when my partner turned around and told her to stop being racist. There is a man wearing a MAGA hat. There’s also THAT woman with the no-nails T-shirt and cartoonish fake nails.”

Another fan placed the blame squarely on the WNBA, writing“Two important things that happened earlier today, long before Indiana lost, and now you want to say something. You allowed Dijonai Carrington to be interrogated and threatened with death. Not to mention all the shit that’s happened since the beginning of the season. DO BETTER WNBA.”

While it’s unclear why it released correspondence from the obnoxious fan, the WNBA quickly responded, which included all concerns about racial bigotry from fans, players, franchises and anyone involved within the league’s ecosphere.

“WNBA is a league by which the perfect athletes on the earth compete. While we welcome our growing fan base, the WNBA is not going to tolerate racist, derogatory or threatening comments towards players, teams or anyone related to the league,” the statement read.

It added: “League security is actively monitoring threat activity and will work directly with teams and arenas to take appropriate measures, including the involvement of law enforcement as necessary.”

Despite Clark’s attempts to distance herself from the actions of her more hostile supporters – when she remarked earlier this 12 months, “Everyone in the world deserves the same respect” – the situation has only gotten worse.

The Sun’s Alyssa Thomas also shared her opinion, reflecting on the season’s intensity and labeling racist attacks from Clark’s fans “unacceptable.”

“Basketball is going in a great direction, but we don’t want fans who are belittling us,” Thomas said. “There’s no time for this anymore.”

However, according to Carrington, hate attacks and online attacks proceed.

While her Instagram highlights her achievements this season, her X profile has been wiped, likely in response to the relentless harassment. Despite Clark’s repeated calls for civility, the fallout from their on-court clash shows no sign of abating.


This article was originally published on : atlantablackstar.com
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Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown shows off his own brand and signature shoes ahead of the 2024 NBA season – Andscape

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5 hours ago

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September 27, 2024

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After greater than two years of deciding to play without an official footwear agreement, Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown has unveiled his own brand, 741, under which he’ll launch the long-awaited first signature shoe of his profession – Rover.

The announcement of Brown’s self-funded and managed brand got here Tuesday after the Celtics’ media day, during which the reigning NBA Finals MVP posed for official team photos in his latest shoes, which he’ll wear throughout the upcoming 2024 NBA season.

“741 is more than just a sneaker brand,” Brown said in an official press release. “It’s a statement – ​​about independence, creativity and ownership.”

Boston Celtics forward Jaylen Brown poses for a portrait during the 2024-25 NBA media day on September 24 at TD Garden in Boston.

Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

The 741 Rover is scheduled to debut on October 22, the same day Boston opens its season against the New York Knicks. According to 741’s official website, adult shoe sizes are priced at $200 per pair, while kid’s sizes are priced at $70.

Brown’s first shoe will make him the NBA’s twenty eighth energetic headliner. The debut shoes signed by Sacramento Kings All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox (Curry Brand) and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic (361 degrees) from the Denver Nuggets are expected this season. Brown also becomes a minimum of the ninth player in NBA history to release a signature sneaker under a private or family brand, joining Patrick Ewing (Ewing Athletics, 1989) and Shaquille O’Neal (Dunk.net/Dunkman, 2000-01). and Stephon Marbury (Starbury, 2006).

“Black Moon” colorway of Jaylen Brown’s latest 741 Rover sneaker.

741

“Understanding ownership and value is important for the next generation of athletes,” Brown said in the debut press release promoting the 741. “It’s time to create greater value for everyone involved, from athletes to consumers to employees and the communities that support them.” He said , that he “rejected $50 million in offers” from major shoe corporations to realize full ownership and control of creative design inside his own company.

Brown initially endorsed Adidas under the standard player contract he signed as a rookie in 2016 and played until his five-yr contract expired in 2021. In the spring of 2022, Brown made headlines as the first NBA player to sign with Donda Sports , the talent agency founded by music artist and longtime Adidas collaborator Kanye West. The move potentially set the stage for Brown to grow to be the face and debut headliner of Yeezy Basketball’s division until the rapper’s partnership with Adidas abruptly led to October 2022, just before the start of Brown’s breakout seventh NBA season, and Brown has left Donda Sports.

For the past two years, Brown has been wearing Nike sneakers, though he was not officially affiliated with the shoe company. However, in late 2023, he began removing the swoosh from pairs he wore from the late Kobe Bryant’s signature line and pairs from Nike’s GT series. Brown’s creative control over his Nike shoes was likely prompted by a controversial conclusion directed at his former Celtics teammate Kyrie Irving’s long-term cooperation with Nike, which ended before the 2023 NBA season. “Since when does Nike care about ethics?” Brown wrote on X, formerly referred to as Twitter, in response to company founder Phil Knight’s comments about ending his relationship with Irving. Brown’s post has since received greater than 120,000 reposts and likes.

“I’m more inclined to go down this destructive path for tennis players,” Brown said in November 2023 on the show , hosted by longtime NBA veterans Andre Iguodala and Evan Turner. “Many contracts signed by athletes are stationary. Here it’s, cut and dried, with no creative control, no marketing control, but mainly no input.

In early June, as the Celtics reached the 2024 NBA Finals, Brown’s desire to forge his own path in footwear took center stage as he participated in pregame warmups in an unassuming shoe, prompting speculation that it was his upcoming first signature model. However, nobody has been in a position to discover or confirm the brand behind the aesthetically futuristic design.

A number of months later, basketball and sneaker culture found an official answer. After eight seasons in the NBA, one sneaker endorsement and three years of free shoe agency, Brown finally has his own signature shoe, designed for him and by himself, with the freedom and vision of his own brand.

Brown also continues the legacy of NBA players bringing sneakers to market on their own terms. It was founded 35 years ago in 1989, after former Knicks star Ewing left Adidas and a one-yr, $1 million contract to form Ewing Athletics to supply more fuel-efficient, high-performance basketball shoes. Ewing’s sneaker entrepreneurship paved the way for O’Neal’s Dunkman brand at Payless, Marbury’s Starbury line as one of the most fascinating stories in sneaker history, and now Brown has disrupted the modern NBA star footwear landscape.

“I put everything into designing 741,” Brown said, “and it was as challenging and rewarding as anything I did on the court.”

Aaron Dodson is a sports and culture author at Andscape. He writes primarily about sneakers/apparel and hosts the Sneaker Box video series on the platform. During Michael Jordan’s two seasons with the Washington Wizards in the early 2000s, the Air Jordan 9 “Flint” shoes sparked his passion for kicking.

This article was originally published on : andscape.com
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50 Cent is working on a documentary for Netflix regarding the Sean “Diddy” Combs molestation case

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8 hours ago

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September 27, 2024

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Netflix and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson are teaming up to supply a docuseries detailing the ongoing case of Sean “Diddy” Combs. This week, Jackson confirmed the streaming service’s partnership in the project, which is able to address allegations of brutal abuse and sexual assault against Combs.

“This is a story with significant human impact,” Jackson said in a statement: for a change. “It’s a complex narrative spanning decades, not just the headlines and clips we’ve seen so far.”

Alexandria Stapleton, who directs the upcoming documentaries, and Jackson want to offer “a voice to the voiceless” and present “authentic and nuanced perspectives.”

“While the allegations are disturbing, we urge everyone to remember that the story of Sean Combs is not the full story of hip-hop and its culture. We are committed to ensuring that individual actions do not overshadow the broader contribution of culture,” they added in a statement.

Over the years, Jackson has been vocal about his disdain for Combs without apology. Even though each men have had significant influence on hip-hop, 50 Cent says he was postpone by the “uncomfortable energy associated with” the “Bad Boys” founder and his infamous parties.

Lifestyle

“I’ve been very vocal that I don’t go to Puffy parties and do crap like that,” Jackson said Hollywood reporter. “I’ve been staying away from this shit for years.”

“I told you all this weird shit, I do not throw ANY fancy parties. you didn’t consider me 🤨 but I bet you suspect me now,” he added on X, sharing the Netflix announcement.

Earlier this 12 months, the “G-Unit” rapper teased plans for a docuseries on social media. After video footage emerged of Combs physically assaulting his ex-girlfriend (*50*) in 2016, more women got here forward to sue the mogul for sexual assault. Concerned by Combs’ actions, Jackson reportedly said that proceeds from the documentary, which he previously described as “Diddy Do It,” could be donated to victims of sexual assault.

Although the rapper didn’t confirm the title of the documentary, the “Power” producer used the phrase to troll Combs online.

“Now it wasn’t Diddy who did it, it was Diddy who did it 🤷🏽‍♂️they don’t come like that unless they have a case,” he said he tweetedin response to federal agents raiding Combs’ home.

Combs was recently charged with sex trafficking and racketeering after allegedly engaging in a “persistent and pervasive pattern of abuse of women and others in order to pursue his sexual desires, protect his reputation, and conceal his conduct.” After being denied bail, the music mogul awaits trial at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

This article was originally published on : thegrio.com
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