Marshawn Lynch is playing hard ... to get.
After being fined $100,000 dollars for failing to make himself available to reporters, the Seattle Seahawk was coy with the media following a win against Arizona.
The running back was asked a total of 22 questions. He responded with 50 total words, 12 of them ?being “yeah.”
“How does that defense compare to others that you’ve seen this year?” one reporter asked.
“Yeah,” Lynch said.
“How does your back feel, Marshawn?” another asked.
“Yeah,” Lynch said again.
“Marshawn, can you talk about the Cardinals’ ?defense?”
“Ye — you get the point."
It’s not as if this tactic is new to reporters.
New England Patriots Coach Bill Belicheck is often terse with the media, repeatedly answering questions with, “On to Cincinnati” after his team suffered a 41-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs this season.
From a simple snicker to “R-E-L-A-X,” NFL coaches and players have their own unique way of dismissing questions.
But Lynch never wants to answer questions — not directly, anyway — and apparently, that’s a problem.
I say, Lynch’s attitude is refreshing.
For all the players who crave the limelight, here’s a running back — one with the most touchdowns in the league, no less — who doesn’t want any part ?of that.
“Beast Mode” simply wants to play football, doing his talking the way he does best: on the field.
I say, let him.
Lynch just happens to be one of the few players whose personality and style of play speaks for itself.
His teammate Richard Sherman, on the other hand, can talk enough for the both of them.
Sherman’s antics became infamous after his team beat the 49ers in last year’s NFC Championship game.
On the sideline, Sherman wasn’t celebrating the victory but instead shouting about how Michael Crabtree was a “sorry receiver.”
It’s that boisterous and showy manner fans have come to expect from the corner, and it works for him.
But the truth is, not every star athlete is meant to be a star personality.
So when did we start expecting them to be?
In college football, loud personalities are tamped down in order to promote a team mentality, and young athletes are often shielded or withheld from the media’s prying eye.
IU football’s own freshman quarterback Zander Diamont was made unavailable to reporters for two weeks (one game), most likely because he was thrust untimely into the spotlight.
An Old Oaken Bucket, a cigar and an Instagram post later, Diamont seems more than comfortable in his new role.
But some athletes never want the spotlight to shine off the field.
Those players enter the NFL, a job earned on talent alone, and they are thrown to the wolves.
Talent becomes a token to celebrity, and personalities become inflated personas, with drama off the field meant to mirror the drama on it.
Cleveland Browns Johnny “Money” Manziel is a prime example of a player who thrives under these circumstances, because in the end, money is what it’s all about.
The bigger the personality, the bigger the endorsements, the bigger the ?paycheck.
Meanwhile, Lynch is content to eat his Skittles quietly on the sideline — business, as usual.
vziege@indiana.edu
