Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch does his best to avoid reporters, but during Super Bowl week that’s not easy: The NFL requires all players to meed with the media throughout the week, and although Lynch hasn’t had much to say, he has grudgingly attended.
Doug Baldwin thinks that’s dumb.
Baldwin, the Seahawks receiver and friend of Lynch’s, says that if Lynch would like to keep to himself and let his play do the talking for him, the league should let him be.
“What is there to get? He doesn’t like talking to the media,” Baldwin said. “That’s not what he’s about. I think it’s ridiculous that the NFL forces him to do that. They’ve threatened fines; they’ve threatened suspensions that if he didn’t talk to the media they were going to come down with harsh punishment. I don’t get it. You get fined for talking too much, you get fined for not talking at all. I don’t think he’s misunderstood; that’s just who he is. There’s nothing to misunderstand. He’s the most up-front and blunt person about who he is, so I don’t think there’s much to misunderstand.”
Baldwin says Lynch is well-liked by the people who know him.
“He’s a very caring person,” Baldwin said. “He’s compassionate about his teammates. He’s always looking out for his teammates, and it doesn’t matter what it is. He’s a big, caring guy. He’s not fake. He’s very blunt and honest about who he is. He doesn’t hesitate to voice his opinion about something to his teammates. A lot of respect is given to him because he’s that way.”
That’s a side of Lynch that reporters don’t see.