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- O.J. Simpson has been in prison since December 2008
- During that time, he has coached softball, played fantasy football, and generally stayed out of trouble
(CNN)O.J. Simpson has spent the past eight and a half years behind bars at Lovelock Correctional Facility, a medium security prison in Nevada's high desert.
Simpson -- famously acquitted in 1995 in the slayings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman -- has been serving out a nine-to-33-year sentence for his role in a 2007 incident that unfolded in a Las Vegas hotel room.
Simpson and armed associates allegedly confronted two memorabilia dealers and took pieces of memorabilia from them. Simpson was convicted on charges including kidnapping, armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. The former college and pro football star said at his sentencing that he was trying to reclaim family heirlooms and other personal items that had been stolen from him, and claimed that he was unaware his associates were carrying guns.
During his years in prison, Simpson has passed the time playing fantasy football, coaching softball, and, at least in the beginning, eating lots of junk food, according to guards and an inmate who were there with him. A representative for Simpson declined CNN requests for comment.
On Thursday, Simpson will have a hearing before the Nevada Board of Parole to decide whether he will be released from prison -- and if parole is granted, Simpson could be released as early as October, parole board spokesman David Smith said.
Here's a look at Simpson's life as Lovelock's most famous prisoner.
Relationships with guards and inmates
O.J. Simpson during a break in an evidentiary hearing in Clark County District Court on May 14, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Simpson would at times get teased about the killings and trial, former guards Jesse Mandoki and Jeffrey Felix recalled.
Both recalled a moment when Felix dropped a glove on the ground in front of Simpson and made a wisecrack about it fitting, an allusion to the famous moment during his trial.
Whether intentionally or not, Simpson was typically paired with a burly cellmate, said Greg Lewis, who spent seven years with Simpson as an inmate at Lovelock.
"His cell mates were usually bigger dudes that could take care of business if anybody hassled him," he said.
Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
O.J. Simpson reacts after learning he was granted parole at Lovelock Correctional Center on Thursday, July 20, in Lovelock, Nevada. Simpson is serving a nine-to-33-year prison term for a 2007 armed robbery and kidnapping conviction. Click through the gallery to see moments from the notable life of the former football and media star.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
As a University of Southern California running back, Simpson accepts the Heisman Trophy in December 1968.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
Simpson, pictured in 1974, was a running back for the Buffalo Bills from 1969 to 1977.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
Simpson with his wife, Marguerite Whitley, his daughter Arnelle and son Jason, circa 1974. The couple were married from 1967 to 1979. They had another daughter, Aaren, who died as a toddler in a drowning accident.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
Simpson in action during a Buffalo Bills game against the New York Jets.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
Simpson married Nicole Brown Simpson in 1985. Here the couple appears at a Los Angeles nightclub around 1976.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
Coach Lou Sabin and O.J. Simpson
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
Simpson branched out into acting. He appears with Bill Murray, left, Laraine Newman and Garrett Morris in a "Saturday Night Live" skit in 1978.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
As a running back for the San Francisco 49ers, Simpson carries the ball against the Oakland Raiders during a preseason game circa 1978.
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Simpson becomes a commentator on ABC's "Monday Night Football" in the mid-'80s. He appears with Joe Namath, left, and Frank Gifford.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
Simpson and his children attend Nicole Brown Simpson's funeral in June 1994.
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Ronald Goldman was slain with Simpson's ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson on June 12, 1994.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
In footage seen on TV screens around the world, police chase a white Ford Bronco with a fugitive Simpson inside on the Los Angeles freeways on June 17, 1994. The Bronco eventually returned to Simpson's home in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, and he surrendered to police on murder charges in the deaths of his ex-wife and Ronald Goldman.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
Simpson's mug shot after his arrest on murder charges.
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Fans leave signs of support outside Simpson's house in June 1994.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
Lead defense attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr. and prosecutor Marcia Clark face off during a hearing in the murder trial that riveted a nation.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
"If it doesn't fit, you must acquit" was defense attorney Cochran's mantra during the trial. Here, Simpson tries on a leather glove tied to the crime scene at his murder trial on June 15, 1995.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
Simpson cheers with his attorneys F. Lee Bailey, left, and Johnnie Cochan Jr. on October 3, 1995, after being found not guilty of killing Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Though cleared of criminal charges, a civil jury later slapped the former football star with a $33 million wrongful death judgment, and attorneys for the Goldman family have doggedly pursued his assets.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
Simpson continued to encounter legal problems, including a "road rage" trial in the Miami area in October 2001. He was found not guilty on charges stemming from a traffic altercation with another motorist.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
Simpson appears in court with attorneys Gabriel Grasso, left, and Yale Galanter before sentencing in the sports memorabilia case in December 2008 in Las Vegas. Simpson contended he was retrieving personal items that had been stolen from him and were being sold as memorabilia. He later accused Galanter of having a conflict of interest and failing to mount an effective defense.
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Photos: The rise and fall of O.J. Simpson
The Palace Station hotel room, the scene of Simpson's reported confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers, is displayed on a monitor during Simpson's trial in September 2008.
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Simpson embraces his sister, Carmelita Durio, while his friend Tom Scotto looks on in court after a guilty verdict was reached in October 2008. Simpson was convicted of leading a group of associates into a room at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino and using threats, guns and force to take back items from two dealers.
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Disgraced football star O.J. Simpson appears in court on May 13, 2013, seeking to get his robbery, assault and kidnapping convictions thrown out after spending more than four years in prison. He argued that bad legal advice led to his arrest and conviction in a confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers. His 2008 conviction came 13 years after his acquittal on murder charges in the deaths of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
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But overall, "The Juice" has gotten along well with others in prison.
"Simpson has stayed out of trouble there," said Brooke Keast, spokeswoman for the Nevada prisons system. "We haven't heard much from him."
At his 2013 appearance before parole commissioners, Simpson described himself as a prison diplomat. "I'm sure the powers here know I advise a lot of guys," Simpson testified to parole commissioners. "I'd like to feel I keep a lot of trouble from happening."
Tom Scotto, a close friend who says he visited Simpson in prison dozens of times, also described him as a positive influence on the other inmates. "He brings everybody together, the skinheads, blacks, Mexicans," he said.
Scotto remembered that guards would affectionately call him Nordberg, after the bumbling police officer he played in the "Naked Gun" movies.
Mandoki and Felix remembered calling him something else: Bobble Head. Why? "Man, he's got a really big head," Felix said.
A more relaxed environment
Life at Lovelock is considered to be more comfortable than at other Nevada facilities -- and people of different races mix there, unlike at many other prisons in the state, both former guards said.
While working as a guard, Felix would often visit other Nevada prisons where racial tensions were more pronounced. "I only saw the same race talking to each other, eating with each other and living in the same area unit," he said. "The inmates of different races were not mingling like at Lovelock."
"These other joints, you can't even talk to the other race or sit next to them in the chow hall," said Lewis, who is white, and who spent nine months at Northern Nevada Correctional Center before coming to Lovelock. If there is interaction between races, "it's not uncommon that your own race takes you back to the cell block and kicks your ass. They call you a race traitor."
Extra perks
A view inside Lovelock Correctional Facility.
Simpson would occasionally get preferential treatment from both guards and inmates, Mandoki and Felix recalled.
"What happened usually O.J. Simpson cuts in front of every line," Felix said -- lines for meals, for instance. "Everybody understands that. Because that is just the way of life at Lovelock."
When Simpson would buy extra food at Lovelock, other inmates would carry his bags for him, Lewis and both ex-guards recalled.
Mandoki remembers seeing Felix and Simpson walking in the yard together, and was surprised that they got so close. "You could see Felix doing laps with O.J," he said. "I was always amazed that he (Felix) was allowed to do that."
Felix, who worked at Lovelock for 20 years and retired in September 2015, says he became one of Simpson's confidants in prison. In 2016, he published a book about his time getting to know Simpson at Lovelock, titled "Guarding the Juice."
Prison food
In his earlier years in prison, Simpson ate a lot of junk food and gained a lot of weight, Lewis and the ex-guards said. They remembered him eating chocolate chip cookies, ramen noodles, and sticky cinnamon rolls, which Mandoki said contained something like 2,000 calories each.
But in recent years, Simpson, who turned 70 this month, appears to have gone on a health kick, the ex-guards said.
"He looks like he is 50 years old now," Scotto said. "He lost lots of weight, maybe 70 or 80 pounds."
Recreation
Simpson would frequently talk about his arthritis and knee surgeries, Felix said, and could be seen limping around the yard to the row of outdoor telephones where he talks to relatives and friends.
His health may have limited his athletic activity in prison, but he still found ways to immerse himself in sports.
He was constantly winning money in fantasy football games due to his knowledge of the National Football League and players' skills, Felix said. "One time when he wasn't looking, I got info off of his football sheets. He made me some money," he recalled, laughing.
"You can visit him at Lovelock from Friday to Sunday," Scotto said. "I knew to never even bother to try to visit with him on a Sunday during football season because he was watching the games."
"We used to send him fantasy football stuff in there," Norman Pardo, Simpson's former manager who has stayed in touch with him via telephone. "He was melancholy and we would send him 20 or 30 (fantasy football) envelopes to keep his mind occupied."
He's also taken to coaching softball, nicknaming his team "the Giants" as a nod to his San Francisco roots.
Former inmate Lewis, who played for the Giants, said that Simpson guided the team to championships two years in a row. "He was super competitive, as you might imagine with O.J.," Lewis said. "He'd try to get the rules bent for us. He knew the rules pretty well. He was a studious coach."
Simpson's cell has a 13-inch flat screen television, the former guards said, the largest size that prisoners at Lovelock can buy.
But Simpson didn't watch "OJ: Made In America" or "The People v. O.J. Simpson," the documentary and television series about his life that came out over the past year.
"We didn't let people watch," said Keast, the prison spokeswoman. "We don't want to bring attention to one inmate over any other."
