Marshawn Lynch threw another $24,000 and change into the NFL’s end-of-year charitable contribution pot Thursday, this time for yelling at an official during Sunday night’s loss to Dallas. File this under, “Yeah, that’ll make him toe the line.”
Fining Lynch is always a hilarious gesture, as it changes his behavior in zero ways. His tab this year is $146,309 (figures courtesy Spotrac), which is still a distant second behind Michael Crabtree among Raider miscreants and a paltry 15th among players not involved in drug violations.
Frankly, Lynch has been a veritable exemplar of modest and unassuming youth by that standard.
The fines are still $146,309 more than he paid in the prior two years, given that he didn’t play at all in 2016 and only seven games in 2015. His misdemeanors include joining in a brawl, contact with an official and double birding the Tennessee Titans, and while they aren’t as inherently sexy as his Skittles shoes in 2015 or his green shoes in 2011 or crotch-grab touchdown celebrations or his not talking to the media on approximately 779 occasions, it is an impressive first year’s work in Oakland.
Still, he seems to be mellowing in his old age. Yelling at officials is a very low bar to clear, and the wear-and-tear on his body may be ruling out his leaping groin-grab touchdown celebrations. Plus, with celebrations now taking on more elaborate forms in the new liberalized climate, one man’s impish sense of humor doesn’t equal a can-can line or a sack race.
Nevertheless, Lynch is doing his best as a soloist – a post-hyphy Miles Davis whose sheet music can’t be read by most musicians. And unlike the largest fines, which are either drug- or on-field-conduct-related, his are just for smarting off to authority figures, and we can all agree that such demonstrations, while occasionally distasteful, does tend to lower one’s stress level.
Besides, Seattle just got fined for discarding the league’s concussion policy with quarterback Russell Wilson, which is far more egregious an act than Lynch punching the air with his middle fingers.
Plus, there are two more games in which he can pad his totals. I mean, he may not be record-driven, but it is the holiday season and all, and if he’s going to go, go big and damn the expense. After all, he has a standard to downhold.
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