After serving nine years of a potential 33-year prison sentence for a 2007 armed robbery case involving his own sports memorabilia, former football legend O.J. Simpson was granted parole on Thursday.

Simpson became immediately emotional, taking his head in his hands when the four-member board unanimously voted to grant him parole in October.

Now 70 years old, Simpson, who was already a household name for his football and acting careers, became notorious after being implicated in the 1994 murders of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman. He was acquitted in the highly publicized trial that followed.

During the parole hearing Thursday, Simpson recounted his version of the events in September 2007 that led to his incarceration. While acknowledging throughout his remarks that the entire incident was "just not worth it," Simpson maintained that he was unarmed and that he did not break into the hotel room containing his memorabilia.

"I would never, ever pull a weapon on anybody," Simpson said.

Simpson's oldest daughter, Arnelle, read a statement on her father's behalf during the hearing. "We just want him to come home. We really do," she said.