Wednesday 28 January 2015

Lynch Doesn't Need to Talk; He's "All About That Action"

Much has been made this week about star Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch thumbing his nose at the media and the NFL.  He made his NFL mandated appearance of 4 minutes and 30 seconds.  Not a minute more.  He did the bare minimum that was required of him for player media availability, answering all questions with. "I'm only doing this so I don't get fined" or "You know why I'm here."

This begs the question.  Is Marshawn Lynch making a mockery of the NFL
media availability protocol?  Or is the NFL media protocol a mockery in and of itself?

Ask yourself:  Who is your favourite NFL player?  Then ask yourself: Why is he your favourite NFL player?  If you answered "because he is a great interview", then turn in your media credentials and ask yourself why you're wasting your time reading a blog.

We watch the NFL and its players because of the athletic ability they demonstrate; because of their competitiveness, aggressiveness, play-making ability, desire, drive, commitment, teamwork, and sportsmanship.  Its "all about the action" not their words after the game or a few days before the game.  Is it nice to hear from the players?  To hear what goes through their mind during a miraculous comeback or a game-winning drive as media darling and superstar Seahawks QB Russell Wilson so eloquently shared with the media after leading his team over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game in Seattle?  Of course.  Its interesting.  Its entertaining.  It endears us to the players a little more.  But its not essential.  Its something that should be shared not mandated.

There are those who say these are millionaires making tons of money that comes from fans and through the media.  The players OWE IT to the fans and the media to cooperate and stand in front of reporters, microphones, and cameras, and do it often.  So that the media can ask questions that they already know the answer to in most cases, and give their cliched answers that the media can use as a quote for the story that they have already outlined and need quotes to bolster.

But don't give TOO MUCH of an answer, don't go all Richard Sherman after last year's NFC Championship win over the San Francisco 49ers, or they may call you a thug!  Don't give too many cliche answers either cuz that's too boring, and certainly don't be controversial.

The fact of the matter is, that Marshawn Lynch, for whatever reason, does not feel comfortable talking to the media.  Whether he has had a bad experience with a reporter or reporters before who misquoted him or made him unfairly look bad in a story, or if he genuinely suffers from an anxiety disorder or is just plain shy.  He has made it abundantly clear that he is not very willing to cooperate with the media and the NFL on this. Yet, the media continues to give him grief, and the NFL continues to fine him, when he doesn't live up to the minimum requirements for media availability.  So, what does he do?  He shows up for media availability for the exact required minimum amount of time and gives the media standard answers.  They basically know that's what he's going to do.  Yet, the story doesn't die.  Still, so much is made of it every time he does this.

I say, let it go.  Let it go, like my 4 year old daughter always serenades me with.  He is showing up to not get fined, because of the NFL's ridiculous policy demanding that players make themselves available.  If a player shows time and time again that he doesn't want to deal with the media and yet is forced to, what do the media really expect to get out of him?  Do they think he's going to show up one day and start orating on the history of the game?  Why his team is going to win?  Or break down a game for them?

The media should be thankful that they have people like Russell Wilson, Tom Brady, and, yes, even Richard Sherman who are more than happy to give them the juicy sound bites and stories they so crave.  They should probably turn the page and get of  Lynch's back.  After all, he is a man of few words, but he's "all about that action".

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