By Matt Sepic, KMWU
St. Louis, MO – A minor-league baseball team in O'Fallon, Mo. has cancelled plans to mark what it called the "O.J. Simpson 10th anniversary" with a trivia contest.
The River City Rascals planned a "sports criminals' night" at T-R Hughes Ballpark for next week, but scrapped those plans Monday.
The team also apologized to anyone that might have been upset by the idea.
Simpson was acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife and her friend Ronald Goldman in 1995. Goldman's mother lives in west St. Louis County. Simpson was later found liable for the deaths in a civil suit.
The team, in a statement, said the promotion was designed to "humorously poke fun at how the media sensationalizes athletes who end up involved in the justice system."
"Our intent wasn't to honor or celebrate any criminal acts that were committed or alleged by a professional athlete, and was actually an attempt to identify how the media has changed in recent years as a result of these incidents," said Phil Giubileo, the team's Director of Broadcasting, in the same statement.