Talk might be cheap, but not talking carries a $50,000 penalty. That’s the amount the NFL fined Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch for not talking to the media.
The NFL reportedly fined Marshawn Lynch $50,000 for not talking to the media. / Drew McKenzie, Sportspress Northwest
Talk might be cheap, but not talking can carry a stiff price tag. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFL slapped Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch with a $50,000 fine for not talking to the media this season. Lynch, who had confined his public discourse to his “Stop Freakin . . . Call Beacon” TV and radio commercials, bantered briefly with reporters last Friday, but his brief comments came too late to suit the PR-conscious league, which requires that its players engage the media.
Lynch ran for 1,257 yards and scored 14 touchdowns (12 rushing, 2 receiving) for the NFC West champion Seahawks (13-3), who will host the New Orleans Saints in a divisional playoff game Saturday at 1:35 p.m. at CenturyLink Field.
But Lynch did not share his thoughts, either after games or in regularly scheduled weekly interview sessions, until the Seahawks made him available for questions Friday. This is the transcript from that session (questions are in bold):
(On how he is feeling…) “Smooth.”
(Thoughts on how the season has gone…) “We’re doing pretty well.”
(If it helps to have the extra week off before playoffs…) “Yeah rest helps.”
(What rest can do…) “It helps refresh your body.”
(On how it feels going into the playoffs…) “I feel good. I like our chances.”
(On getting the running game going last week and whether there was something different…) “It’s just all of us coming together playing the game.”
(On what is it like working through practice this week not knowing who they play…) “We just took approach of not knowing just by playing against ourselves this week, just giving that kind of effort against the best defense.”
(On what can you benefit by doing that…) “When you get to practice against the best it brings the best out of you.”
(On his historical run the last time the Seahawks had a home playoff game and what does he have in store for next weekend…) “I just hope to win, boss.”
The NFL apparently felt the media and public suffered without additional Lynch enlightenment, which begs the question:
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