For good behaviour, former football star O.J. Simpson was released from parole early. The 74-year-old has thus served his sentence for armed robbery – but another trial continues to hover over his life.

Nevada/Munich – Former NFL star O.J. Simpson is officially a free man again. The 74-year-old was released from probation on Tuesday in the state of Nevada for good behaviour. Simpson had been living under regulatory supervision in Las Vegas since his multi-year prison stint ended in October 2017.

Simpson had been sentenced to 33 years in prison for an armed robbery at a Las Vegas hotel in 2008. A Nevada state judiciary committee voted unanimously in mid-July 2017 to grant Simpson parole for the remaining years.

Former murder trial remains controversial to this day

The former top football player, who later also made a career as an actor in Hollywood (“The Naked Gun”), together with accomplices had forced two collectors of fan articles to hand over devotional objects at gunpoint.

More than a decade before, he had been at the centre of one of the most controversial trials in recent US judicial history.

In 1995, in the spectacular circumstantial trial, he was acquitted of the charge of murdering his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her companions. The verdict at the time still divides the US public today, and the events surrounding Simpson have long since found their way into US pop culture.

Simpson became the first running back to break the 2,000-yard mark

The number one pick from 1969 was on the field for a total of ten years in the NFL.

He was most successful as a running back for the Buffalo Bills (1969 to 1977), was selected to the Pro Bowl six times and was also awarded the MVP trophy in 1973.

In his MVP season he became the first NFL running back to break the 2,000-yard mark in a single season.

Before ending his career, he played two more years (1978-1979) with the San Francisco 49ers.