Through the Arch

About Through the Arch

Award-winning columnist Tom Archdeacon — an old-school storyteller in a brand-new venue — writes about sports, the city, southwest Ohio and anything else that catches his fancy… or yours.

August 2008

RSS Syndication

XML Through the Arch
XML More 'DDN' feeds

More recent entries

• BLOG: A Name That Has A Ring -- five of them -- To It
• Blog: Reactions to a Murdered American
• Blog: Feeling the Heat at Opening Ceremonies
• Blog: Going the Extra Mile For An Autograph
• Blog: Four U.S. Athletes in a Flap
• Blog: In China with Roy the Boy
• Blog: Sexually Inexperienced Chicken ... and Other Matters.
• BLOG: OSU Fans Finally Enlighten Me
• BLOG: Natural Born Killers in the 'Hood
• BLOG: Racism isn't why Bonds is out of work
• More entries...

Archives

• August 11, 2008
• August 9, 2008
• August 8, 2008
• August 7, 2008
• August 6, 2008
• August 5, 2008
• July 25, 2008
• More archives...

Home > Blogs > Through the Arch > Archives > 2007 > May > 09 > Entry

Best Derby Moment: O.J. Gets Booted

By Tom Archdeacon | Wednesday, May 9, 2007, 11:51 AM

My favorite Kentucky Derby moment was not watching Calvin Borel masterfully guide Street Sense along the rail to set up their victory. Nor was it seeing Queen Elizabeth II, herself an avid horse woman, enjoying the race from the Turf Club railing.

It wasn’t even listening to the pre-race tribute given last year’s fallen champion Barbaro and his wondrously empathetic owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson.

While all offered something memorable in their own right, nothing topped hearing that O.J. Simpson — who I’ve seen in nasty action myself at Churchill Downs — was unceremoniously given the boot from a downtown Louisville steakhouse on Derby Eve.

For me, the hero of the 133rd Kentucky Derby is restaurateur Jeff Ruby, owner of Jeff Ruby’s Louisville.

“I didn’t want that experience in my restaurant,” Ruby told a Louisville reporter earlier this week.

He said seeing the former NFL great — who was found innocent in 1995 of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ron Goldman, but was found liable in a civil trial — “makes me sick to my stomach.

“I didn’t want to serve him because of my convictions of what he’s done to those families. The way he continues to torture the lives of those families … with his behavior, attitude and conduct.”

And last year on the Churchill Downs backside — where Simpson has shown up the past four races — I got to witness some of that attitude and conduct up close.

Seeing Simpson one morning before the 2006 race, I approached him — and shame on me for doing so — to find out what he was up to.

In the late 1970s, I’d interviewed him as his NFL career was winding down and I’d done another story with him in the 1980s during one of his many trips to Miami, where I was a columnist I hadn’t talked to him since.

On this May day a year ago — as the aging, blond woman he was with stepped up onto a wooden viewing stand to watch the morning workouts — he talked about how he was picking Lawyer Ron in the Derby:

“I love lawyers, I know all about them. If there was a Lawyer Johnnie, Lord knows, I’d put my house on him,” he said in chuckling reference to Johnnie Cochran, the attorney who had helped him avoid murder charges.

Then Simpson started talking about the Derby party scene, which he said he was immersing himself in as much as possible:

“You got better parties here than you do in Miami at the MTV Awards. It’s the No. 1 event of the year. The hip-hop, movie and horse culture are all here. It comes down to Kentucky hospitality. I feel totally comfortable and everybody’s great.”

Simpson was making me sick to my stomach and finally I just turned away, leaving him talk to a fan.

Moments later, when he was ready to leave, Simpson looked up at the woman and said flatly, “Let’s go.”

Enjoying herself as she watched the horses, she said, “Just a minute, I want to….”

She never finished because Simpson commanded, “Get down here…now!”

The words were cold and hard. He glared at her and the animation instantly drained from her face. She came down without a word.

And then — in what was a subtle, but telling move — he reached over as if to take her hand, but instead clasped onto her wrist. And giving it a slight twist to make sure the torque was turned up, he walked her off in the direction he wanted to go.

Some six months later, after an offer to him for $3.5 million, he attempted to publish his book — “O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here’s How It Happened,” — and do a two part TV interview, as well. Both projects were eventually cancelled over public outcry.

This Derby, O.J. was back in Louisville, laughing, telling stories, making the rounds. During race week, prices are jacked up considerably but that doesn’t seem to bother Simpson, who has not paid a cent of the $33.5 million he owes the Goldman family after being found “criminally liable” in a civil suit.

Finally, though, somebody here took a stand.

And the thing is, Ruby — who has a string of restaurants in Cincinnati, Belterra, Ind. and Louisville — always has been one to cater to big-name athletes.

In fact, before the 1994 murders, he served Simpson several times in his Cincinnati restaurant and used to have a picture of the two of them together on his wall. After the murders, Ruby said he took down the picture.

That sets the stage for last Friday night about 10:30 when Simpson showed up at Ruby’s W. Main Street restaurant with about a dozen people in his party.

Soon after, Ruby — in the account he gave the Louisville writer — said he informed Simpson, “I am not serving you.”

When Simpson didn’t respond, Ruby told him again and then left the room.

“This was the only thing I could do for the victims’ families,” said Ruby.

He said Simpson then approached him, told him he understood and then left the restaurant without incident.

“It was the first time since 1994 he has ever shown any class,” Ruby said. “He showed it that night in the restaurant.”

Ruby said some 50 people in the private room where Simpson had been seated “stood up and applauded me” when Simpson left. Since then Ruby said he’s gotten over 100 e-mails supporting his move.

But Simpson’s attorney, Yale Galanter, told the Associated Press:

“He screwed with the wrong guy, he really did.”

Galanter said he intends to pursue the matter and possibly go after the restaurant’s liquor license. He said Ruby’s move was done because of race.

On that, the guy is right.

But not the black race or the white race as he contends.

No, in my book, this was done for the human race to which Simpson is an affront.

And it was especially good to see Simpson getting some of that same Derby hospitality I saw him give that woman he was with last year.

With a verbal twist of the wrist, somebody finally told O.J.:

“Let’s go.”

Permalink | Comments (53) |