As it turns out, talking to a reporter employed by the NFL wasn’t enough to satisfy the NFL’s requirement that Marshawn Lynch talk to reporters.
The NFL has fined $100,000 for failing to speak to reporters after Sunday’s game, which also included Lynch failing to go to the locker room at halftime.
“Marshawn Lynch has been fined $50,000 for violating the NFL Media Policy,” the league said in a statement provided to PFT. “In addition, the league will collect the $50,000 fine that was imposed following violations of the media policy during the 2013 season but held in abeyance in anticipation of future cooperation.
“The NFL Media Policy mandates that players must be available to the media during the practice week at the team facility and in the locker room following all games.”
The league had threatened Lynch with the fine if he violated the policy again on Sunday in Kansas City. Lynch dressed quickly and left the locker room after Seattle’s loss to the Chiefs. Lynch then spoke by phone to NFL employees Mike Silver and Michael Robinson (a former Lynch teammate). The league declined to accept those calls as a substitute for answering the questions of reporters who actually were at the game.
An appeal is likely, because Lynch has nothing to lose. While Lynch, who has been fined two prior times for violating the policy, is in the wrong, the whole thing currently seems a little goofy, given the far more important fish the league office currently is trying to fry without continuing to splash 360-degree grease all over itself.