Bill Simmons denied being the main featured in a viral pickleball fight video. Screen grab: ‘The Bill Simmons Podcast’
By Ben Axelrod on

You don’t obtain the amount of success that Bill Simmons has without possessing a certain level of competitiveness.

But while The Ringer founder would admit as much, there’s also a limit to his aggressiveness.

For example, Simmons doesn’t play pickleball, but if he did, he wouldn’t be the type to assault an opponent with his paddle. Nevertheless, many found themselves wondering if the ex-ESPN columnist had found himself in such a scenario as a video made the rounds showing a similarly grey-haired man involved in a pickleball fracas.

Of course it didn’t help that the primary video making the rounds was captioned “Oh, Bill Simmons, not like this.”

Nobody seemed to think that it was actually The Sports Guy in the video, but between both the caption and the man’s likeness, it was enough for some to wonder. But when confronted by co-host Ryen Russillo about the subject on the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, the Boston native insisted it wasn’t him.

“What’s up with you with the pickleball thing?” Russillo asked. “You hit that guy right in the head.”

“What is it? I don’t play pickleball,” Simmons insisted.

“That’s what I would tell a jury,” Russillo retorted.

Simmons doubled down, reiterating that he’s never held a pickleball paddle much, less assaulted somebody with one, and that he finds the sport “reprehensible.” But after venturing into the hellscape known as social media to find the video in question, the 55-year-old conceded, “that does look like me” while also maintaining his innocence.

“I swear on the lives of my kids that I’ve never played pickleball,” Simmons reiterated. “Thank you for clearing that up. I didn’t know this was a thing. This is amazing.”

Simmons proceeded to address his issues with pickleball, which he says is “one of the worst things that’s happened in the last 10 years from a competitive sports standpoint.” But despite his issues with the sport’s noises, injuries and the type of people it attracts, if you find yourself on a pickleball court and happen to see somebody who looks like Simmons, you might be best served walking the other way. Or at least, have a helmet ready.

About Ben Axelrod

Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.

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