Justin Timberlake: My son 'will never play football'
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Justin Timberlake, who is set to headline the Super Bowl LII halftime show, said Thursday that he will not allow his 2-year-old son play football.
Timberlake was asked at a news conference whether he would support his son Silas if he wanted to play in the NFL, according to ESPN. Timberlake responded: “Uh, he will never play football. No, no.”
“I mean, yeah, it's kind of like that thing where my main objective is that he become a great person. And if he wants to get into the arts or sports, then yeah, I would fully support that,” Timberlake said. “I think I can hopefully offer him some advice on what to do and what not to do, so yeah, but right now we're working on our manners. That's a big deal in our house right now. It's like, one thing at a time.”
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The pop star’s remarks come as the spotlight over the NFL’s concussion policies shines ever brighter.
Last week, the NFL released a report showing that players suffered more concussions in 2017 than in the previous year. The league noted a “rise in self-reporting of symptoms.”
The report, conducted by a third party, found that in 2017 there were 281 reported concussions compared to 243 the year before, a 13.5 percent increase overall in both preseason and regular season games.
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Timberlake also told reporters that there would be no special guests with him – putting to bed the notion of an ‘N Sync reunion or a special performance with Janet Jackson.
Timberlake is returning to the halftime show 14 years after the "wardrobe malfunction" with Jackson caused a national controversy. He was not asked about the incident during the press availability.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.