Seattle Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch finally made the decision to retire in 2016. What some might remember about Lynch was his quiet demeanor when it came to speaking to the press. That really does not matter, because those who knew him well had some awesome stories to share.
This one story in particular is both heart-tugging and funny. It takes us to a time when Lynch had some words of encouragement to offer an injured teammate. About this time last season former wide receiver Ricardo Lockette endured a bone-jarring tackle. It took place on the road against the Dallas Cowboys.
Lockette did not move for several minutes after injuring his neck. He was eventually carted off the field and transported to a Dallas hospital. Lynch was one of Lockette’s visitors soon after the accident. This is Lockette’s recollection of events after talking with Lynch.
“He just told me, ‘Don’t be in here crying,’” Lockette said, per Jayson Jenks of the Seattle Times. “’Don’t be doing all that crying because Beast Mode don’t cry, and if you cry, I’m going to cry.’ I can visually picture that. I enjoyed that.”
Lynch reportedly had Lockette in stitches, (no pun intended) when he joked about a male nurse assigned to Lockette’s room. Per Lockette’s dad Earl, Lynch made references to the movie The Fockers when he talked to the nurse.
“Bro, you’re going to kill me! I haven’t had surgery yet.”
Laughing aside, the day Lockette was injured was a career-defining moment. He would never play professional football again and announced his retirement from the league in May of 2016.
This story about Lynch and Lockette is just one of the several mentioned within Jenks’ article. Other former teammates had endearing things to say about Lynch.
He is definitely one of a kind and surely missed in the locker room and on the field by his former team and NFL friends alike.