The NFL has fined Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch $50,000 for violating the NFL's media policy after he refused to talk to reporters on Sunday following the team's loss against the Kansas City Chiefs, according to ESPN's Ed Werder. The league will also collect the $50,000 it did not get from Lynch last year, after it withheld a similar fine in anticipation of future cooperation from Lynch.
Marshawn Lynch fined total of $100K by NFL
Lynch will pay a hefty fine after refusing to talk to the media following Sunday’s loss against the Chiefs.
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Lynch has a history of being reticent with the media in both pregame press conferences and in the postgame locker room. Two years ago, Lynch was fined $20,000 because he wouldn't speak to the press during the league-mandated sessions. Last February, he threatened to boycott Super Bowl Media Day, though he eventually showed up, but provided reporters with the bare minimum to fulfill his obligation.
On Sunday, he refused to talk to the media after the loss to the Chiefs, but he apparently called two NFL Network reporters after he left the building, thinking that level of cooperation with the media was enough to suffice per the league's mandates. It was not, and the league decided to hand down the season's heftiest fine to a player since the Ray Rice incident in the offseason.
Only Rex Ryan has been fined as much during the season when the Jets head coach received a $100,000 fine after dropping an F-bomb after his team upset the Steelers. For comparison's sake, Titans tight end Chase Coffman was fined $30,000 for running over a Ravens assistant coach on the sideline.
Lynch ranks fourth in the NFL in rushing yards (813), and has a league-best nine rushing touchdown this season. He rushed for 124 yards on 24 carries against the Chiefs, his second straight 100-yard rushing game.
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