Russell Wilson Said He Would Be Playing Tennis If He Didn't Want To Get Hit

Russell Wilson: 'If I didn't want to get hit, I'd be playing tennis'https://t.co/8l8zCcdZMc pic.twitter.com/mE0A8Fzjxc

— Around The NFL (@AroundTheNFL) November 2, 2016

YardBarker-  In NFL.com’s “Oklahoma Drill” article, in which players are posed questions and made to respond quickly, Wilson stated the following:

I think first of all, you gotta play the quarterback position in a smart way. Obviously, if we didn’t want to get hit, we’d be playing a different sport. That’s just the truth. If I didn’t want to get hit, I’d be playing tennis. But I think that in terms of being smart on the field, you gotta get down and protect yourself. I haven’t seen all the hits, so I don’t know if some of them are illegal. I don’t really know because I haven’t really seen (Cam Newton) play this year as much.



Let me start by saying I completely understand Russell Wilson's fairly obvious point here. He's just using a hypothetical tennis career to tell everyone that he accepted the dangers of football well before he decided to play it professionally. I can't imagine there was any significance to the sport he chose to deliver his message other than it being the first non-violent one that came to his mind. 

That said, I'm so glad that's the direction he involuntarily went in. He could have taken a swipe at the toughness of basketball players, or used the much safer team sport that he could have potentially gone pro in by mentioning baseball. Theoretically he could have played soccer, or volleyball, or golf and been just as free from health compromising collisions. Why not be a bowler, or a swimmer, or a cyclist, or a runner if he was going to venture into completely non-contact activities?

I'll tell you why, because none of those sports would have painted the all-too-perfect picture of Russell Wilson in short-shorts, a pair of all white K-Swiss, and a visor with the name of his country club on it. Never before have I envisioned the Seahawks quarterback loudly grunting as he stretches to return a serve, but the tennis shoe fits so in mind he'll forever be wearing it. Russell Wilson makes so much sense as a tennis player that I honestly can't currently see him as anything else.

In fact, I am starting to think it wasn't just coincidental that he used the most popular racket sport for his "random" comparison. I wouldn't be the least bit shocked if there's a part of Russell Wilson that feels like he really missed out on becoming tennis' Tiger Woods, and that this recent interview was the first time he put a voice to an idea he's had for years. That's probably not the case whatsoever but you can't convince my brain otherwise. All it sees is a Super Bowl champion wearing visible compression shorts and multiple wristbands as he fills his paper cone while yucking it up at the water cooler with the boys from the tour.