Athletes must show the media respect

I frequently tell my peers that “I’m thankful” for all of the things that I’ve been blessed with in my life — my family, friends, health and so on.

However, for Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch, this two-word expression of gratitude was also his favorite defense mechanism when being forced to take questions from the media in a postgame press conference that followed his team victory over the Carolina Panthers in the NFC divisional playoff earlier this month.

This past Tuesday, Lynch returned to the media spotlight at the annual Super Bowl media day, a spotlight that he wants nothing do with.

And even before reporters even began to interrogate Lynch with their open-ended question, he made it clear to the media that he was only present so that he would not get fined.

In fact, Lynch’s response, “I’m here so I won’t get fined,” was just about the only one he gave to each of the credentialed media’s questions, as approximately 200 reporters surrounded his podium at the US Airways Center.

In his statement, Lynch was referring to an alleged fine of $500,000 that he faced from the NFL should he have failed to make himself available for media day, according to a league source.

NFL contracts obligate players to be available to the media, though the league cannot ultimately control what comes out of its players’ mouths.

Lynch is no stranger to fines imposed by the NFL, as the Skittles-loving running back has accumulated $120,000 in fines since the beginning of the regular season, the majority of them from violations of the league’s media policy.

During Wednesday’s media session, Lynch continued his shenanigans by uttering the phrase, “You know why I’m here,” approximately 14 times over a five-minute span.

His Super Bowl week comebacks add to a long resume of them that Lynch has built over the years, ranging from “thanks for asking,” to “I’m just about that action, boss,” to just a simple “yes”.

As entertaining as it is to watch, Lynch needs to stop acting like a child and put an end to his sassy behavior in front of reporters.

His rookie years are long gone, this being his eighth season in the league, so there is a really no excuse for this kind of conduct when dealing with professionals just like him who are simply trying to do their jobs.

If he wants people to call him “Beast Mode” for his performance on the field, he had better start acting as such off the field.

At the end of the day, it’s his responsibility to talk and make himself fully available to the media. When he goes up to the podium and pulls stunts such as the one we witnessed on 2015 Super Bowl Media Day, he makes a fool of not only himself, but also reporters, which is not ok.

By not directly answering any question or saying anything relevant for that matter, Lynch is also stripping the media of its right to get the answers they need to communicate to fans.

For years, the media has been an excellent vehicle for transmitting athlete’s feelings, input and personas. By not talking, Lynch is setting a bad example to younger athletes who look up to him — especially for college athletes who will soon be put into the same position as him.

From what I’ve experienced firsthand as a member of the media at USC, a lot of college athletes are being groomed on how to speak to reporters at a young age by requiring a lot of them to talk in postgame pressers. This likely translates to a comfortability when it comes time to do it in the pros. It seems as if Lynch, who attended Cal, never got any of that training.

If the five-time Pro Bowler’s demeanor was to spread to other athletes, it would jeopardize the entire landscape of sports media.

And it did indeed spread for a hot second when Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook pulled his best Lynch impersonation when he trolled the media by answering every question with a variation of, “We did a good job with execution.” Westbrook then proceeded to create an awkward moment by singling out one of the reporters and telling him that he simply didn’t like him.

Though Westbrook’s behavior is inexcusable, it does bring forth the argument that athletes sometimes are just not in the mood to stand in front of a bunch of reporters and answer their redundant questions, and therefore, they should should not be required to do so.

Yet, at the end of the day, these athletes need to fully read and understand their entire job description.

Yes, both Lynch and Westbrook are both getting paid millions of dollars a year to play their respective sports, but they are also required to appropriately represent their teams, fulfill their media obligations and serve as positive role models to the community. I’m not a sports agent, but I’m pretty sure a variation of those clauses are in their contracts somewhere.

So now hear me out Marshawn, you’re a highly paid professional being given the opportunity to promote your team, brand and personality on the world’s greatest stage, so don’t take any of it for granted.

I’m thankful to be able to watch you go all beast mode and pour Skittles out on the field on Sundays so the least you could do for the fans and my friends in the media is show them that  you’re genuinely thankful, too.

Darian Nourian is a junior majoring in print and digital journalism. He is also the sports editor of the Daily Trojan. His column, “Persian Persuasion,” runs Thursdays.