Marshawn The Mentor

Marshawn The Mentor

- Michael Wagaman

Trying to figure out what makes Marshawn Lynch tick is impossible unless you are a part of his inner circle. You can ask around and maybe even try to talk to the man himself but it’s often an exercise in futility.

Which is exactly how Lynch wants it.

Although he’s spent much of his life in the spotlight of college and pro football, Lynch is a private man who shuns the media attention. Doing interviews — or those that he’s not intricately involved in setting up — can be a painful experience, both for Lynch and for the person asking the questions.

He politely, and often jokingly, declines most requests. After games when he is required by the NFL to be available to talk, Lynch will sometimes mutter a few answers before slipping on his backpack and slipping out the back door.

When a group of reporters circled around him following the Raiders Week 13 win over the New York Giants, a game in which Lynch had a 51-yard touchdown and finished with the first 100-game of his Oakland career, he stood up and eased his way past the cameras and recorders while offering an explanation for his exit.

“I’m sorry, though, look,” Lynch, holding a piece a paper that was taped to his locker notifying him of a drug test after the game. “It’s either this, or that, and I can’t afford that. I apologize. But if you do not understand what this is, it’s when you put your ding-ding sauce out and give them a sample.”

Naturally the response drew loud laughter from the reporters because it was a rare glimpse Lynch offered them into his personal life.

Yet once you get behind that first layer of privacy, there is an entirely different perspective.