February 6, 2016

Remembering Ron Goldman


With FX's American Crime Story premiering this past week, I was thrown back to 1994 and the time when a sports figure's murder trial  was plastered on every newspaper, magazine and tabloid, hijacking tv programs for months and being an endless topic of water cooler discussion and heated debates.   

What was apparent then and remains apparent now was how Ron Goldman is lost in the shuffle of celebrity, domestic abuse and racial tensions.  He was unidentified when the murders were discovered and it's sad that even today, he is a second-class citizen behind the killer and Nicole Brown.

Nothing against Nicole - - she was a victim and most certainly did not deserve what befell her - - but she wasn't the only victim.  Ron lost his life too and he did so while trying to help her.  Painful enough that he's been relegated to footnote status in the entire saga but very few people acknowledge that Ron was a hero.  As his sister has said, he could have saved himself when he either saw Nicole dead on the ground or witnessed her being attacked but he didn't do that. 

So much ink has been spilled about the killer's violent streak, his womanizing, his repetitive legal troubles - - the public seems more interested in idolizing him than the young man who put someone else's safety above his own.  It's shameful.  Shouldn't we know that Ron Goldman was a loving son and brother, close with his father and sister, dedicated to his friends and who dreamt of one day opening his own restaurant?  That's the person he was and that is what his killer robbed him, his family and his friends of.

When I think of this case, my first thought is always of Ron and my heart breaks for him.  We were almost exactly the same age in June of 1994.  I got to turn a year older in July; Ron did not.  Every life experience I've had since then, Ron has been robbed of.  Every holiday I've been able to spend with my family, Ron hasn't.  

If you're reading this, I ask that you take a moment to think about Ron.  Remember this young man doing a quick favor for a friend, who was then going to head out on a normal evening with other friends, not knowing this compassionate nature he had would be one of the last acts he'd perform.  Think of his joyful smile as pictured here, his zest for life.  Say a prayer for him.  Think of him when standing in the sun or doing a good deed.

Most of all, think of him.

10 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you, Leah. I think it's important that Ron isn't forgotten - -he was as much a victim as Nicole Brown Simpson but the media has largely overlooked him over the years.

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  2. I'm sure it was a very good man
    very sorry that it happens in life
    but always need to remember
    God takes the best people at a young age
    to him in his kingdom
    we believe that Ron is happy there in heaven.
    and we will remember and love him here on earth.

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    1. Thank you for your post. I do believe that Ron is happy in heaven and not suffering. But I don't think that God intended for him to die on June 12, 1994. I think there was a plan for Ron's life and O.J. Simpson destroyed that. That's what O.J. Simpson should be remembered for.

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  3. Promising career and future cut short due to a maniacal jealous ex-husband. RIP Ron...you left this earth too young and early.

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    1. He certainly did, Anonymous. At least he's at peace now.

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  4. It has always troubled me that the OJ trial turned into something other than a murder trial.....and that lost in drama & everyone's '15 minutes of fame' was two people lost their lives in such a brutal fashion.....especially Ron Goldman. There has not been any justice for either victim and even less so for Ron Goldman and his family because he is an afterthought when people talk about the 'OJ case'. Maybe the media forgets about Ron....but, there are many of us that have not. RIP Ron on your 50th birthday.

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    1. You are right, GADEB. It wasn't a murder trial so much as a trial against the LAPD and a commentary on racial relations. Race had no part in the trial because race had zero to do with why Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman died.

      The media forgot about Ron nearly from the beginning. He didn't fit into their agenda of the famous athlete/spokesperson/movie star and his glamorous former wife. It was Ron's family that attended the criminal trial every single day, representing Ron. They were the ones crying while the verdict was read, as Ron's killer gloated and smirked.

      I said this back in 1995 and I still think it now. There is a higher court than the state of California that Simpson will have to face. There will be no Johnnie Cochran or Judge Ito or a panel of jurors with an ulterior motive of payback.

      Thanks for posting.

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  5. You are right about Ron Goldman being a footnote in this horrible crime. He was taken much too soon because he was a good guy, doing a good deed. Very sad.

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    1. It's just so damn tragic. Hopefully his good deed and kind heart will be remembered in this saga rather than the terrible person who killed him.

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