If fining Marshawn Lynch won’t stop him from making obscene gestures, maybe an actual penalty will do the trick.
NFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino told ESPN’s Sal Paolantonio on Saturday that the Seattle Seahawks will be assessed a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct if Lynch makes an obscene gesture in Super Bowl XLIX against the New England Patriots.
If Lynch does the gesture after scoring a touchdown — as he did when he grabbed his crotch after scoring against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game — the Seahawks will be forced to kick off from their own 20-yard line.
The NFL fined Lynch $20,000 for that gesture, about a month after slapping him with an $11,000 fine for doing the same thing in a game against the Arizona Cardinals.
Lynch wasn’t penalized for either gesture during the game, but it appears the league is taking a new approach in attempting to stop his antics.
Elsewhere in the ongoing battle between Lynch and the NFL, a league official told ESPN’s Adam Schefter that it is considering fining Lynch “significantly more” than the $50,000 fine he received in November for not speaking to the media.
Thumbnail photo via Steven Bisig/USA TODAY Sports Images
