''June 17th, 1994'' is a

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

Brett Morgen Brett D. Morgen (born October 11, 1968) is an American documentary filmmaker. His directorial credits include '' The Kid Stays in the Picture'' (2002), '' Crossfire Hurricane'' (2012), '' Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck'' (2015), '' Jane'' (2017), a ...

released as part of

ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...

's ''

30 for 30 ''30 for 30'' is the title for a series of documentary films airing on ESPN, its sister networks, and online highlighting interesting people and events in sports history. This includes four "volumes" of 30 episodes each, a 13-episode series und ...

'' series.

Summary

The documentary details the events of Friday, June 17, 1994, in which several noteworthy sporting events occurred during the police chase of O. J. Simpson. Morgen says the diversity of the events provides an opportunity "to look at the soul of America". The documentary features no

narration Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

and also no interviews and consists simply of clips from news sources throughout the day. There are rare clips of sportscasters like

Chris Berman Christopher James Berman (born May 10, 1955), nicknamed "Boomer", is an American sportscaster. He has been an anchor for ''SportsCenter'' on ESPN since 1979, joining a month after its initial launch, and hosted the network's '' Sunday NFL Count ...

and

Bob Costas Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from ...

talking to their producers about how to deal with the O.J. story within the context of the events they were covering.

Events occurring during this day

The events detailed in the documentary that occurred during the chase of Simpson are as follows. *

Arnold Palmer Arnold Daniel Palmer (September 10, 1929 – September 25, 2016) was an American professional golfer who is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most charismatic players in the sport's history. Since embarking on a professional career in ...

playing his final round at the 1994 U.S. Open (in a nod to the fact that 06/17/1994 had major events involving both Palmer and Simpson, a clip from a commercial that the two both-then-beloved athletes had filmed together in the 1970s for

Hertz Global Holdings Hertz Global Holdings, Inc. (formerly The Hertz Corporation), known as Hertz, is an American car rental company based in Estero, Florida. The company operates its namesake Hertz brand, along with the brands Dollar Rent A Car, Firefly Car Renta ...

was shown). * The commencement of the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

, hosted for the first time by the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

with

Oprah Winfrey Oprah Gail Winfrey (; born Orpah Gail Winfrey; January 29, 1954) is an American television presenter, talk show host, television producer, actress, author, and media proprietor. She is best known for her talk show, ''The Oprah Winfrey Show' ...

and then-president

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

presenting. * The

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

celebrating their win in the

1994 Stanley Cup Finals The 1994 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1993–94 season, and the culmination of the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Eastern Conference champion New York Rangers a ...

with a

ticker tape parade A ticker-tape parade is a parade event held in an urban setting, characterized by large amounts of shredded paper thrown onto the parade route from the surrounding buildings, creating a celebratory flurry of paper. Originally, actual ticker tap ...

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

(the parade took place earlier in the day and was largely unaffected by the Simpson events). * Game 5 of the

1994 NBA Finals The 1994 NBA Finals was the championship series of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 1993–94 season, and the culmination of the season's playoffs. The Western Conference champion Houston Rockets played the Eastern Conference cham ...

between the

Houston Rockets The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston. The Rockets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA) ...

and the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

; most NBC affiliates split coverage between the game and the freeway chase (as narrated by NBC News anchor

Tom Brokaw Thomas John Brokaw (; born February 6, 1940) is an American author and retired network television journalist. He first served as the co-anchor of Today (American TV program), ''The Today Show'' from 1976 to 1981 with Jane Pauley, then as the anch ...

on a split-screen.) *

Ken Griffey Jr. George Kenneth Griffey Jr. (born November 21, 1969), nicknamed "Junior" and "the Kid", is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played 22 years in Major League Baseball (MLB). He spent most of his career with the Seattle Mari ...

tying

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

's record of the most home runs (30) before June 30 and the team's 65th game of the 1994 MLB season.

Aftermath

* The U.S. Open concluded on Monday, June 20, with

Ernie Els Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former , he is nicknamed "the Big Easy" due to his physical stature along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victories are four major ...

winning a three-way playoff for the championship. * The

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

concluded on Sunday, July 17 with

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

winning its 4th championship after

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

player

Roberto Baggio Roberto Baggio (; born 18 February 1967) is an Italian former professional footballer who mainly played as a second striker, or as an attacking midfielder, although he was capable of playing in several offensive positions. He is the former pr ...

missed a must-make penalty during a shootout to decide the title. * The 1994 World Cup is also featured in another ''ESPN 30 for 30'' documentary entitled '' The Two Escobars'' which follows

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

men's national team player

Andrés Escobar Andrés Escobar Saldarriaga (; 13 March 1967 – 2 July 1994) was a Colombian professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He played for Atlético Nacional, BSC Young Boys, and the Colombia national team. Nicknamed ''The Gentleman'', ...

who scored an

own goal An own goal occurs in sports when a player performs actions that result in scoring points for the opposition, such as when a Association football, footballer puts a ball into their own net. In some parts of the world, the term has become a met ...

for the

on June 22. Escobar was murdered in Colombia on July 1, reputedly by cartel-connected hitmen, enraged that his error led to the team being eliminated from the World Cup tournament. * The

would not make another Stanley Cup Finals until the first meeting between teams from

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

for a major professional sports championship since the

1981 World Series The 1981 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1981 Major League Baseball season, 1981 season. The 78th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American Lea ...

(), when the team lost to the

Kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Kings: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations. *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh'', an 11th-century epic Persia ...

four games to one, and they haven't won the Cup since 1994. * The

NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern and Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference champions play a best-of-seven series to determine the league ...

concluded June 22 with

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

winning the series in seven games. The Knicks would return to the NBA Finals in but lost that series 4–1 to the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

, and have not been back to the finals since then. * The

1994 Major League Baseball season The 1994 Major League Baseball season began on April 3, but ended prematurely on August 11, 1994, with the 1994–95 Major League Baseball strike. The season started despite the expiration of MLB's previous collective bargaining agreement at th ...

would end after the games of August 11 due to the player strike and with future Hall of Famer

hitting a total of 40 home runs. Major League Baseball didn't return until the 1995 regular season, and the long delay resulted in 18 games being cut from the schedule (though the 1995 World Series did take place on time). * '' O.J.: Made in America'' won the

Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature The Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film is an award for documentary films. In 1941, the first awards for feature-length documentaries were bestowed as Academy Honorary Award, Special Awards to ''Kukan'' and ''Target for Tonight''. The ...

23 years after the chase and was produced by ESPN, who were also responsible for this film. * Simpson died of cancer at age 76 on April 11, 2024, about 30 years after the infamous chase.

Critical reception

Robert Lloyd wrote in ''

The Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper in the U.S. and the larges ...

'': "Morgen juxtaposes the events of that day in a kind of associative round robin, finding points of contrast and commonality, of similar action and visual consonance, on which to turn his film. But he offers no other, more remote perspective; this is not a summing up of events, but rather a meditation, of an elemental sort, not just on sports but on the way of the world." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' writer Noel Murray ranks ''June 17th, 1994'' as the best documentary in the ''30 for 30'' series as he saw the

montage Montage may refer to: Arts and entertainment Filmmaking and films * Montage (filmmaking), a technique in film editing * ''Montage'' (2013 film), a South Korean film Music * Montage (music), or sound collage * ''Montage'' (EP), a 2017 EP by ...

style of the film as a reflection on "how viewers process television", and argues that it comments on "how the media struggles to make sense of events that have no clear outcome." Jimmy Traina of ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' called it a "tremendously fun watch".June 17, 1994: Wildest day in sports history - Sports Illustrated
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References

External links