"Ele vai me matar": análise da cobertura midiática do assassinato de Nicole Brown e o modus operandi da imprensa especializada

Abstract

This paper discusses the track record of domestic violence that the american Nicole Brown suffered in her relationship with O. J. Simpson even after the couple's divorce in 1994: when she was brutally murdered. The ex-husband was the main suspect of the crime of proximity, in a case that gathered a series of compatible DNA evidence against him, but Simpson was acquitted of the case, conducted by a predominantly black jury in a Los Angeles marked by race and class conflicts, aggravated by police violence against Afro-Americans. The peak of OJ's career as a college sports star and his performance in the National Football League (NFL), the most popular league in the sport, coincide with the boycott that brands and sport leaders promote against black athletes who speak out about violence police and racism, guidelines that the athlete did not defend when he was in activity, presenting statements that signal that O. J. is above that. Using the documentary OJ: Made in America (2016) and authors who research the sport, Coelho (2003), violence, Dias (2008), crimes of proximity, Carvalho (2014) and the french line of discourse analysis as Orlandi (2012) and Ramires (2017), the work addresses the media coverage of the murder of Nicole Brown and the production of meaning fabricated from the speeches that took over the press. Understanding all this is only possible by analyzing not only the context, but the sports journalism practices and the press as a whole, which shields idols from inappropriate conduct and accusations, letting their crimes fall into the forgetfulness of everyday life and, consequently, public opinion, by softening acts, reducing violence and even disrespecting the memory of victims and their families.