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Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Doug Baldwin defended his teammate, running back Marshawn Lynch, and was critical of the NFL for its rules about forcing players to speak to reporters. Lynch was fined $100,000 on Wednesday for failing to talk to reporters after being warned about it starting last season. Baldwin made his comments during a radio interview Thursday night on a 710 ESPN Seattle show called "The Barber Shop." "This is what irritates me most about the NFL," Baldwin said. "At this level it's not just pure football any more. It's about the business. People are gonna get mad and say you guys get paid to do this stuff and I get that. "But that's where the off-the-field stuff gets kind of nasty. We play and game and give our heart. In Marshawn's case, he doesn't want to talk to the media, period, because they want to sensationalize stuff and are just trying to get clicks and make money, just like any business." Baldwin also said he thought it was unfair for any reporter to make a complaint to the NFL about Lynch refusing to talk. "We can talk about freedom of speech and all this, but in this case, you have to say something," Baldwin said. "You can't just be quiet. So it is frustrating. "For somebody to go out of their way to tell the NFL that Marshawn isn't doing this, then he does go in front of the microphone and they ask him dumb questions. They ask irritating questions, questions that are leading to try to get him to say something so they can have a sound bite or a quote they can make some money off of." Baldwin was asked what he thought could improve things between reporters and players. "Understand we're humans just like anybody else," he said. "We're not robots and we're not perfect people that you have to put up on a pedestal. "And sadly, I understand kids look at us as role models, but at the end of the day we just play football. We don't save lives. We're not doctors, we're not lawyers, we're not policemen and we're not firemen. We're football players. Not only the media, but fans also should realize we're just humans and make mistakes like anybody else. We say things that may irritate other people just like anybody else." Baldwin offered this proposal: "So what the media can do is be real," he said. "Don't just make stuff up to sensationalize a story. Take what you hear from a person and don't try to put your own twist on it. Then it will be a better relationship for the media and the fans. It'll bring out the stories everybody really wants to hear." And he had one final word on Lynch. "Marshawn not speaking is more interesting than anything he could say," Baldwin said. "It speaks volumes about the type of person he is. Like he said, he's only about that action."
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