O.J. Simpson ESPN Documentary Claims Disgraced NFL Star Suffers CTE

In the wake of FX's new series, American Crime Story, revolving around the infamous O.J. Simpson trial, ESPN has just released a new documentary about the disgraced former NFL star. On it, Dr. Bennet Omalu, the man Will Smith plays in last year's Concussion, reveals he's convinced that Simpson's behavior is due to brain injury, particularly Chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE.

Speaking to ABC News earlier this week, the neuropathologist, known for his discovery of a degenerative brain disease affecting football players, said that Simpson's behavior after his sports career made it clear that he "more likely than not" suffered from the condition.

"I would bet my medical license on it," Omalu told the outlet confidently, even though he's never examined Simpson personally. "He was exposed to thousands of blunt force trauma of his brain."

CTE is a form of brain damage caused by receiving repeated blows to the head and it's been discovered as fairly common in athletes in contact sports like football. However, the condition can only be diagnosed after death since it required the examination of brain tissue.

Infamously, Simpson's behavior has been erratic to the point of criminality in the past two decades, from being charged (and latter acquitted) with the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown and her friend Ron Goldman to being found guilty of robbery and kidnapping in 2007. Simpsons is currently serving a 33-year prison sentence.

Simpson and his lawyers may have known about his brain damage for years: back in 2013, as he sought a retrial for the robbery case, a scraped sworn statement from one of his attorneys said that his exposure to blunt trauma could be to blame for his behavior.

As Business Insider reports, ESPN will be airing a five-part documentary on Simpson next summer, and it's already being hailed as one of the most interesting projects the network has gone through.

The series will cover not only the trial that made Simpson infamous all over the world in the early 90s but also his football career in USC and the NFL. Dr. Omalu participated on the documentary at length.