Justified star Timothy Olyphant has stepped into the sports world from time to time — he threw out an incredibly handsome first pitch before a Dodgers game least season, for example — but we rarely get to talk about the extremely UPROXX-friendly actor on this tab.
That changes today with an interview posted on SI’s Extra Mustard that features tons of interesting sports notions and declarations including the Los Angeles Clippers being NBA Championship bound (in a couple of months), a love of Dan Fouts and more.
The most interesting tidbit comes about midway through the interview when Olyphant explains how he doesn’t want his kids to play football because he went to college with Junior Seau and knows what it does to your brain and body. He also hints at OJ Simpson having CTE, which makes all my glove-fitting-as-it-relates-to-acquitting jokes a little less funny.
A lot of parents will no longer let their children play football. Would you?
A hard “no” on any of that. I went to college with Junior Seau. That’s as tragic a story as one could imagine. How could it not give you pause? You’re talking about grown men who don’t have control over their emotions or their way of thinking. They’re losing the capacity to function. People around them, who they love, are frightened of them. That’s a nightmare I wouldn’t wish on anybody. I read a Tony Dorsett interview that was heartbreaking. And just the other day I was listening to someone say that they’re waiting to hear that OJ Simpson has a sadder story than people realize.That’s … interesting.
Well, you know, if all these guys are going through this, why wouldn’t you ask that question? I’m not suggesting that they should let anyone off the hook. I’m just saying, isn’t that part of the conversation?
On a less somber note, Olyphant is pitch-perfect in his response to the whole “Super Bowl being played somewhere cold” drama.
Now that we’ve had a Super Bowl in a cold-weather stadium, where would you like to see one hosted?
Who gives a s— where the next Super Bowl is hosted? Let’s just get a team in Los Angeles.
He’s also like [ ] this close to dropping Justified spoilers, so go check out the rest of the interview here. I could read him talk about sports all day. Never forget Artsy Jock Timothy Olyphant.
