Will The Smithsonian Take O.J.'s Suit?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed)
Mar 2nd 2010 at 6:02PM

Is the suit that O.J. Simpson was wearing back in 1997 on the day that he was acquitted in the trial for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman really a historical object? For a moment it looked like the suit might be headed to the Smithsonian, the home of a variety of objects like the Hope Diamond, the Spirit of St. Louis and Julia Child's kitchen.

Fred Goldman, Ron's father, has struggled for years to get restitution in the $33.5 million civil suit which found Simpson liable for the two deaths. Goldman has sued Simpson and his former agent, Mike Gilbert, who allegedly has possession of the suit. Goldman and Gilbert agreed to donate the suit to the Smithsonian Institution. There's just one problem, the Smithsonian may not want it. TMZ quotes a Smithsonian official who said that any item that is to be donated goes to the museum curators for review. While the suit has not officially been offered yet it seems that it might not be the sort of thing that the museum generally accepts. There is no doubt that it represents a certain piece of history but the Smithsonian tends to celebrate American achievement and steer clear of more controversial exhibits (they turned down Monica Lewinsky's famous blue dress).

Tags: fred goldman, FredGoldman, o.j. simpson, O.j.Simpson, Smithsonian