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NFL notebook: O.J. Simpson granted parole

By The Sports Xchange
O.J. Simpson reacts after learning he was granted parole at Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nevada on Thursday. Simpson is serving a nine to 33 year prison term for a 2007 armed robbery and kidnapping conviction Pool photo by Jason Bean/UPI
O.J. Simpson reacts after learning he was granted parole at Lovelock Correctional Center in Lovelock, Nevada on Thursday. Simpson is serving a nine to 33 year prison term for a 2007 armed robbery and kidnapping conviction Pool photo by Jason Bean/UPI | License Photo

Former football star and convicted felon O.J. Simpson was granted parole on Thursday in Lovelock, Nev., after serving almost nine years of a 33-year sentence on robbery charges.

The four-person parole board unanimously voted to release Simpson. By virtue of the decision, the 70-year-old Simpson could be out of prison as early as Oct. 1.

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David Smith, spokesman for the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners, explained the rationale for granting Simpson's parole in a media conference after the hearing.

"Mr. Simpson had no prior or minimal criminal conviction history," Smith said. "He had a positive institutional record. He had participated in a program specifically to address his behavior that led to his incarceration. He has a stable release plan and community and family support, and the victim in this case testified in support of Mr. Simpson's release."

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Simpson was convicted in 2008 of an armed robbery involving two sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel room. He served the minimum sentence at the Lovelock Correctional Center, about 90 miles northeast of Reno, Nev.

--The Carolina Panthers released offensive tackle Michael Oher after he failed a physical. Oher, a first-round pick in the 2009 draft, has been in the NFL concussion protocol since last September.

Oher has started all 110 NFL games in which he participated, but he played in just three games last season.

He had three years remaining on his contract, but as part of his injury protection benefits, the 31-year-old Oher is guaranteed $900,000.

The move to release Oher was made by interim general manager Marty Hurney, who was hired Wednesday. Oher defended former Panthers general manager Dave Gettleman after Gettleman was fired Monday.

--Dallas Cowboys rookie cornerback Jourdan Lewis will stand trial next week on one charge of domestic violence.

The 21-year-old Lewis was charged with the misdemeanor in March after a late-night altercation with a woman who was his girlfriend at the time. The woman told police that Lewis grabbed her by the neck and held her to the floor before leaving the apartment they shared.

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Lewis contends that any contact he had with the woman was in a bid to leave the apartment.

--Michael Vick apologized for saying earlier this week that quarterback Colin Kaepernick should cut his hair in a bid to alter his image.

Appearing on "The Dan Patrick Show" on Thursday, Vick said he was "truly sorry" for the comments he made two days prior during an appearance on FS1's "Speak For Yourself."

"At the end of the day, what I said, I should have never said. I think it was taken out of context in regards to what I was trying to convey, but I only want to help Kaepernick," Vick said Thursday. "I'm not a general manager, I'm not the guy who makes the decisions on getting him signed, and I'm truly sorry for what I said. I think I should have used a better choice of words. Obviously his afro has nothing to do with him being signed and I wasn't trying to relay that message. It was more so about helping him at the end of the day. In all my interviews, all I have ever tried to do is help him and talk positive."

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