LAS VEGAS, Nevada (CNN) -- Former gridiron great O.J. Simpson will serve at least nine years in prison for his role in an armed confrontation with sports memorabilia dealers in a Las Vegas hotel in 2007.

O.J. Simpson told the judge Friday that he was sorry for what he did but didn't think it was wrong.

Simpson was sentenced to a maximum of 33 years with the possibility of parole after nine. Before the sentence, he offered a rambling, emotional apology in which he told District Judge Jackie Glass, his voice shaking, that he was sorry for his actions but believed he did nothing wrong. Glass, however, brushed his apology aside, saying his actions amounted to "much more than stupidity," and calling him both arrogant and ignorant.

"Earlier in this case, at a bail hearing, I said to Mr. Simpson, I didn't know if he was arrogant, ignorant or both," Glass said. "During the trial and through this proceeding, I got the answer, and it was both."

She stressed that the sentence was not "payback for anything else," apparently referring to Simpson's acquittal 13 years ago in the slayings of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ron Goldman.  Watch the judge say the sentence isn't about the past Â»

Grimacing, Simpson was escorted from the courtroom in shackles.

Defense attorneys said Glass' sentence was appropriate.

"It could have been a lot worse," Yale Galanter said, noting that Simpson and co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart both could have been sentenced to life in prison.

A jury convicted Simpson, 61, and Stewart, 54, on 12 charges including conspiracy to commit a crime, robbery, assault and kidnapping with a deadly weapon stemming from a September 13, 2007, incident at Las Vegas' Palace Station hotel and casino.

Prosecutors alleged that Simpson led a group of men who used threats, guns and force to take sports memorabilia from dealers Bruce Fromong and Al Beardsley. Simpson claimed that he was attempting to recover items that belonged to him. All the men except Stewart made deals with prosecutors in exchange for their testimony.

"We're happy that this case is coming to an end," Clark County district attorney David Roger said. "We're satisfied that we presented a good case to a jury, that the jury listened to all the evidence, particularly the audiotapes, and came to the resolution that we asked them to come to." He said he thought the sentence was fair.

Simpson's conviction came October 3, the 13th anniversary of his controversial acquittal in the killings of Nicole Brown Simpson and Goldman.  Follow a timeline of Simpson's legal woes Â»

Glass said, "I'm not here to sentence Mr. Simpson for what's happened in his life previously in the criminal justice system. ... The jury decided. There are many people who disagree with that verdict, but that doesn't matter to me."

Goldman's father and sister were in the courtroom for Friday's sentencing.

"The back of his head looks the same as it did every day that we watched him in the criminal case, and we feel very proud of our efforts," Kim Goldman said. "We feel very strongly that because of our pursuit of him for all these years, that it did drive him to the brink of this."

Although Simpson was acquitted in the deaths, a civil jury later found him liable, slapping him with a $33 million judgment. Attorneys for the Goldman family have doggedly pursued Simpson's financial assets to pay the judgment.

In sentencing Simpson on Friday, Glass noted that he can be heard on tapes of the incident referring to the Goldmans as "gold-diggers" and saying he doesn't want them to get his property.  See how his sentence breaks down Â»

"If that pushed him over the edge, great," Fred Goldman said afterward. "Put him where he belongs."  Watch Fred and Kim Goldman react Â»

Galanter said
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conspiracy to commit a crime, robbery, assault conspiracy to commit a crime, robbery, assault and kidnapping with a deadly weapon a September 13, 2007, incident Las Vegas Jackie Glass, District Judge 12 charges including conspiracy to commit a crime, robbery, assault and kidnapping with a deadly weapon 2007. O.J. Simpson
question: What was OJ Simpson convicted of?, answer: conspiracy to commit a crime, robbery, assault | question: What was O.J. Simpson convicted of in October?, answer: conspiracy to commit a crime, robbery, assault and kidnapping with a deadly weapon | question: What do the charges stem from?, answer: a September 13, 2007, incident | question: Where did Simpson's latest criminal actions take place?, answer: Las Vegas | question: Who was the Judge of the case?, answer: Jackie Glass, | question: What is Jackie Glass' job?, answer: District Judge | question: What was Simpson convicted of in October?, answer: 12 charges including conspiracy to commit a crime, robbery, assault and kidnapping with a deadly weapon | question: What year do the charges stem from?, answer: 2007. | question: Who was convicted of robbery, kidnapping and assault in October?, answer: O.J. Simpson