NFL players are required to speak to the media in part because the NFL views reporters as a bridge between the players and the paying customers, the fans. Marshawn Lynch doesn’t see it that way.
Lynch, the Seahawks running back who admitted this morning that the only reason he showed up to the mandatory media availability was to avoid getting fined, told reporters that he doesn’t think the fans care whether he talks to the media or not.
“I mean if y’all say y’all is our bridge from the players to the fans, and the fans really aren’t tripping, then what’s the point? What’s the purpose? They’ve got my back and I appreciate that, but I don’t get what’s the bridge then built for,” Lynch said.
Lynch said that the “12th Man,” as Seahawks fans are called, would support him even if he never talked to reporters.
“The 12s don’t have a problem with it. The people I play for on Sunday don’t have a problem with it. The media has a problem with it. It’s a problem if they choose to take something away from me for not doing it,” Lynch said.
So Lynch will continue to limit his conversations with the media to the bare minimum to avoid being fined.