Marshawn Lynch: ‘I’m just here so I won’t get fined’
Jan 27, 2015, 11:29 AM | Updated: 2:20 pm
Seattle Seahawks’ Marshawn Lynch had only one thing to say before reporters at Super Bowl Media Day: “I’m just here so I won’t get fined.”
The running back used that response for each question addressed to him as he sat for five minutes at the mic.
He began the interview period asking reporters to shoot with their questions, but they all received the same response.
Lynch had set up a timer on his cell phone and got up immediately after the timer indicated his five minute requirement was complete.
According to ESPN’s Ed Werder, an NFL source said Lynch faced a $500,000 fine if he failed to make himself available for media day.
Lynch’s reclusiveness with the media was a major story at last year’s Super Bowl media day.
Lynch appeared for 6 1/2 minutes, left the Newark, New Jersey, arena, then returned to a “mixed zone” the NFL created for players not on podiums or in microphone-equipped speaking areas at the Prudential Center. With the exception of briefly speaking with the NFL Network, to the Seahawks’ website, and to Armed Forces Network, he did not deal with reporters that day.
Lynch has been fined multiple times for violation of the league’s media policy.
He was fined $50,000 this year for violations of the policy, and the league also collected a $50,000 fine that was imposed against Lynch for violations last season.
A number of Lynch’s Seahawks teammates spoke out on his behalf including quarterback Russell Wilson.
“I wish they’d stop fining my man Marshawn,” Wilson said in his media availability at Media Day.
Free safety Earl Thomas also had a positive take on Lynch’s 8-word response, saying: “Sometimes, less is more.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
