No One At CBS Remembers Hiring O.J. Simpson As Color Commentator

NEW YORK—Claiming that their hiring protocol for on-air talent is usually very meticulous, sources at CBS confirmed Sunday that no one within the network can actually remember deciding to hire O.J. Simpson as a color commentator. “He showed up wearing a CBS Sports blazer, grabbed a mic, and just headed into the broadcast booth, so I assume somebody must have cleared him to call today’s Ravens-Dolphins game at some point,” NFL On CBS coordinating producer Lance Barrow told reporters, emphasizing that neither he nor his colleagues could recall the chain of events that led to them offering an on-air color analyst position to the retired Buffalo Bills running back and former Heisman Trophy winner. “I checked with the executive producers and none of them remember hiring him either, so I’m not really sure what happened. The thing is, O.J. is actually a really good analyst—he clearly does a lot of research before the games and has a great voice for TV. I guess we’ll just see where this goes.” At press time, a laughing Simpson was reportedly trading jokes with Jim Nantz in the broadcast booth before checking in with The NFL Today host James Brown for an update on the Rams-Redskins game.