Marshawn Lynch blows off Super Bowl reporters again

Beast Mode was Least Mode again.

Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch abruptly ended his media availability, again, walking away from a throng of reporters and escorted by a member of the New Jersey State Police on Wednesday after about seven uncomfortable minutes in which he answered just a few questions.

The elusive Lynch, who created a stir at media day Tuesday by talking for only 6 1/2 minutes, writhed in his seat and leaned his head back at times as a few dozen reporters, lined up as much as five deep, tried to ask him questions during the players' 45-minute availability at the team hotel.

"I don't appreciate this," he said in a tone barely above a whisper. "I'm just here so I won't get fined."

Earlier this month, Lynch was fined $50,000 US for not co-operating with the Seattle media. The NFL put that fine on hold, saying it would be rescinded if he complied with media obligations. During media day, Lynch spoke for 6 1/2 minutes before leaving, and then returning to speak to Deion Sanders for NFL Network, to the Seahawks website, and to Armed Forces Network and acknowledged he was trying to avoid being fined by the league for not meeting his media requirements.

It didn't appear Lynch would be fined by the league, for either Tuesday or Wednesday.

"Players are required to participate and he participated," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in an email to The Associated Press. "His comments of the past two days have been widely circulated."

Fullback Michael Robinson, one of his buddies who was seated to his left, even poked fun at the situation by asking Lynch a question of his own.

"What do you think of your fullback?" Robinson said, laughing. "Is he a pretty cool brother?"

"No," Lynch responded.

"What?" Robinson asked incredulously.

"No," Lynch repeated.

"That's messed up," a smiling Robinson said. "We went to dinner last night and everything, man."

Replacement player

After Lynch was short with his answers to a few questions, Robinson moved the microphone over to in front of him and began answering questions for Lynch.

"I'm going to slide up in this thing," Robinson said with a smile, "and break up the monotony a little bit. Uhh, Marshawn ain't going to try to say nothing to you guys, so you can direct your questions toward me."

Robinson used the running back's "boss" figure of speech to end each sentence, as Lynch did when asked by Sanders if he was camera shy and responded: "I'm just about that action, boss."

One reporter asked how Lynch was feeling.

"He just wants to play ball, boss," Robinson said.

Robinson was then asked how he would define "Beast Mode."

"It's a lifestyle, boss," Robinson responded as Lynch sat back in his chair smiling.

Lynch was asked if he was concerned he could be fined for not showing up at the availability, and he handled that one himself.

"I'm here, man," Lynch said.

At one point, Lynch looked up at a team staffer and asked, "What's up with that time?" A few moments later, as a reporter tried to ask a question, shouting, "Hey, Marshawn!" Lynch got up, climbed over a few chairs and made his way through the crowd of reporters and disappeared through an area restricted to team personnel.

"He gets it done on game day," Robinson said after Lynch left. "If you're looking for somebody who's going lead by example, all you have to do is watch him run the ball and you know what time it is."