The running back for the Seattle Seahawks, Marshawn Lynch, has been fined $20,000 by the league for an obscene gesture Lynch made during last Sunday’s NFC Championship game victory over the Green Bay Packers.
While the NFL declined to comment as to specifically what the gesture was, there was an incident after Lynch scored a touchdown in which he grabbed his crotch, but that aside, there is no clear indication of what Lynch may have done to warrant the fine.
This fine is certainly not the 1st time Lynch and the league have butted heads on a variety of issues. Another issue occurred on Sunday’s game during which Lynch wanted to wear gold cleats, but the NFL threatened that Lynch may not be allowed to take the field with those cleats as they would be in violation of the NFL uniform guidelines.
In addition to those issues, Lynch often times faces fines for refusing to speak to the media, which has landed him two $50,000 fines for Lynch in the past.
Not speaking to the media will be difficult for Lynch starting next week as the lead up to the Super Bowl includes an impressive number of media events and the NFL has threatened fines much stiffer than $50,000 if Lynch does not participate in those scheduled interactions with the media.
As it stands right now, the Seahawks and the NFL are in discussions on the best way to handle Lynch’s self imposed silence toward the media, and what they could do to mitigate any negative effects as a result of Lynch’s desire to not speak toward the media.
With this $20,000 fine imposed now, and who knows how many more fines potentially looming over Lynch next week, the lead up to the Super Bowl could be an incredibly expensive issue for the star running back.