Tyreek Hill and Marshawn Lynch expose brutal nature of NFL media - "I used to hate talking to the media"
Some athletes really don't like speaking with the media. Past and present NFL stars Marshawn Lynch and Tyreek Hill are prime examples and they are vocal in their opinions on the subject.
The two discussed a lot of subjects on Hill's "It needed to be said" podcast, including the Seattle Seahawks' infamous Super Bowl loss, black quarterbacks, defining "Beast Mode," and speaking to the media.
Hill said that he hated talking to the media, but if you can gain a relationship with them, they can help build your brand:
"It sucks talking to the media, but if you're able to gain a relationship with them, and actually have them work for you and use them to build your brand, it's actually not bad.
"I actually just learned that this year going into my new season with Miami. Because I used to hate talking to the media. I didn't wanna do none of that."
Hill then said that the PR team in Miami has helped him become more comfortable with the media:
"But this year, the PR people with Miami are so good they sat me down. It was like Reek, you don't gotta hate talking to the media… Use the media to your advantage. All right. So this year I've been every time the media want to talk it's like I got solerunner shades on. I got some Solerunner on. I'm using them to help reach a different audience every time."
Lynch then gave his perspective:
"The thing is that sh*t is like it's always gave me that feeling of like what you're trying to get from me. It's more so like hey look, this is how I come to work and I do all my work sh*t.
"Come to practice, go to meetings, take care of my body treatment and then when I come in there and then you actually like what I did last night I was like 'hold on blood. Ain't we supposed to be talking about 24 power?'
"Kind of makes you think like that. But at the end of the day it's more of a, it's an investment. Which is why I say when you start thinking about how to correlate when you got to plan and then transition to business it's like, Oh, this is why they do that type of sh*t."
Marshawn Lynch once trolled the media, repeating "I'm here so I won't get fined"
During the Seattle Seahawks media session during the Super Bowl, Marshawn Lynch wasn't in the mood to speak with the media.
On a Tuesday media session during Super Bowl week, Lynch had the same simple phrase for every question he was asked:
"I'm here so I won't get fined."
It became one of the most famous lines in all of sports.
Marshawn Lynch was almost fined by the NFL $500,000 as a result but they ultimately decided against it. Lynch did reveal that he has been fined $1.2 million by the NFL for not speaking to the media in the past.
It was apparent at times that Marshawn Lynch didn't like speaking with the media, just like many athletes, but they're obligated to speak with them.
If you use any of the above quotes, plese credit "It needed to be said" and H/T Sportskeeda