Report: NFL warns that Marshawn Lynch gesture will be penalized
The NFL has warned the Seattle Seahawks that another inappropriate gesture from running back Marshawn Lynch in Super Bowl XLIX will draw a 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty, reports Sal Paolantonio of ESPN.
Lynch was fined $20,000 after the Seahawks' NFC Championship Game win over the Green Bay Packers last weekend. The Seahawks' running back had scored a 24-yard touchdown run with 1:25 remaining to give Seattle a 22-19 lead. Seattle later won in overtime, 28-22.
Lynch was also fined $11,000 for a similar gesture he made in a Week 16 game against the Arizona Cardinals.
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Seahawks wide receiver Chris Matthews was also fined $11,025 for making the same gesture as Lynch during the NFC Championship Game. Lynch tweeted after the fine was announced that he was "embarrassed to work for a particular organization that fined a teammate of mine for shaking my hand after a touchdown."
The NFL is also reportedly considering fining Lynch for not speaking to reporters after the game, reports Adam Schefter of ESPN. Lynch lost an appeal of a $100,000 fine earlier this season for not speaking to the media, and an NFL official told Schefter that Lynch will be fined increasing amounts for each media session he does not attend next week leading up to the Super Bowl.
Lynch is scheduled to speak Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
- Mike Fiammetta
