Bills RB Lynch Avoids League Punishment

by Brian Galliford on Jul 28, 2008 12:37 PM EDT in News Comment 18 comments

Lynch could still be forced to deal with a civil suit (Photo Source)

Buffalo Bills running back Marshawn Lynch, who in late June accepted a plea deal and paid a $100 fine for a late May hit and run incident, will not be punished by the NFL.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, who is visiting Bills training camp in Pittsford today, confirmed to the media that Lynch has not violated the NFL's personal conduct policy. The Commissioner did, however, visit shortly with Lynch to discuss the running back's responsibilities as an NFL player.

Lynch in June pleaded guilty to a traffic violation after a late May incident in which his Porsche SUV struck and injured Toronto native Kimberly Shpeley. After weeks of speculation about his punishment - not to mention Lynch's lawyer-ordered refusal to speak to anyone about the situation - Lynch paid his modest fine and has had his driver's license revoked.

The fact that Lynch avoided league suspension is the latest in a line of good news for the Bills as they resolve an off-season's worth of off-field issues prior to the start of the 2008 season. Lynch deserved the negative publicity he garnered during the month of June, but with this news breaking, it's finally time to do what I suggested we do about this issue at the beginning of July: move on.

No news has been reported since Lynch's legal punishment was handed down on whether or not he will face a civil suit from Shpeley and her attorney.

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I already posted it once already, but what the heck...

My latest crow recipe is under the last fanpost. Basically, I will enjoy another delightful serving of it, as I was sure Lynch would have been punished somehow.

Has anyone heard if he and the girl have settled out of court? Is she suing him?

by krytime on Jul 28, 2008 12:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Hopefully....

All the negative publicity over this will only help Marshawn to mature as an individual… As for civil action, I thought I had read that they had filed against him, but can’t find it…
And Kry…. I think we may all deserve at least a little of that crow dish….

by Cinga on Jul 28, 2008 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'll take my punishment like a man, too, Kry

and admit I overreacted to the first week’s news on Lynch’s accident. I predicted anything from 2 to 6 weeks suspension for him, and lesser penalties for Hardy and Johnson, and I was wrong.
In my defense, there was nothing coming out of the Bills offices or the Lynch camp in the first couple of weeks after the accident. All we had to base our prognostications on came from the cops and the D.A.
I am so glad to be back to football. The team appears to be motivated, the offense has some spark, everybody’s here except Peters, and they all seem to be on the same page.
It all has to come together on Sunday, of course, but right now my expectations for the Bills are modestly optimistic.

by Defensewinsgames on Jul 28, 2008 1:13 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm glad people on this site eat crow like men

The reason many of us argued he wouldn’t get any suspension should be clearer now that its over and done with. I mean, sure he made a mistake, but when you put what Marshawn did in comparison to what may other NFL players have or are doing his mistake doesn’t even compare. Chime in if I’m missing any notable ones but Brandon Marshall is looking at missing serious time after three arrests, isn’t Charles Grant, Saints DE looking at manslaughter? I think we have a pretty good kid on our hands here with Marshawn. I’m glad he was able to learn his lesson, as Cinga said, from all the negatively publicity (as well as all the rest of the young guys on the team) because I think he’s good enough not to end up like the rest of the clowns in the league, he just needed a wake up call. I think Goodell saw that too.

McKelvin and Hardy - rookies of the year

by poz on Jul 28, 2008 4:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No surprise

Minor traffic incidents don’t require further punishment, even if a “hit and run” sounds worse than what Lynch was ticketed for….

by Kurupt on Jul 28, 2008 1:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Nice

Movin’ on, with our best offensive performer from last year

Protect ya neck!

by killascript on Jul 28, 2008 2:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Parrish

If Parrish was going to be suspended, would Goodell have mentioned this today as well? Does this mean he’s in the clear? If not, when would Buffalo be informed?

Never forget 56-10. Revenge.

by SuperFan82 on Jul 28, 2008 8:44 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That was a while ago I would think we would have heard by now, right?

The time has come for someone to put his foot down. And that foot is me.

by sireric on Jul 28, 2008 8:54 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good question SF82.

I’m not ruling anything out, but like sireric says, I too imagine we would have heard about it by now. While he’s not the impact player Lynch is, losing him fr any anount of time would be pretty hurtful in my opinion..

Is his case all wrapped up though? I’m not sure (ie – I have no flipping idea). Maybe that could be what’s holding up any decision by Goodell?

by krytime on Jul 28, 2008 9:01 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mystified

I’m glad that Lynch won’t be missing any games but mystified at not only the lack of NFL punishment but Goodell’s statement. What Lynch did is exactly the type of thing (i.e. stupid illegal thing that gets the NFL into the news) the NFL Player Conduct policy is supposed to curtail. All that’s left now is the lawsuit…

by Ron From NM on Jul 28, 2008 11:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Why?

He got a traffic ticket….why would you be so mystified that he didn’t get suspended?

by Kurupt on Jul 29, 2008 8:35 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Lynch got his drivers license suspended

and he’s facing a civil suit. What would the NFL add to that which would be meaningful? I think Goodell did the right thing by paying him a visit and talking to Marshawn. Goodell’s message makes perfect sense to me as this was a first offense type of situation. Marshawn may have gotten a free pass this time, but he better not be doing this type of thing again, the NFL will very likely hand out a suspension for another incident.

Get the Bills back to the big game!

by Blitz on Jul 29, 2008 9:20 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Traffic ticket?

Speeding is a traffic ticket. Running a stop sign is a traffic ticket. Running down a pedestrian and fleeing the scene is a bit more than a traffic ticket. My guess is that you’d be a little more than miffed if someone hit your wife/child/mother/etc and received only a traffic ticket.

by Ron From NM on Jul 29, 2008 12:02 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

The point isn’t the ethics of the thing, it’s the end result. The end result is that Lynch got a traffic ticket. The league policy is based on the end result. Ergo, no suspension.

by Brian Galliford on Jul 29, 2008 12:11 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yup, exactly

by Kurupt on Jul 29, 2008 12:27 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm with Ron on this...

Player conduct policy. Think about those words. They pretty much mean, “don’t be a jerk.” Lynch was a jerk; it doesn’t matter what the end results were.

by krytime on Jul 29, 2008 7:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

End result

The end result was that the incident was yet another black eye for the league. The ticket was the state’s lame attempt at justice.

by Ron From NM on Jul 29, 2008 7:06 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Your end result is a matter of opinion. Clearly, if Roger Goodell thought that the league’s black eye in this case was black enough, he’d have punished Lynch. He did not. That should tell you something right there.

This is getting into a much larger discussion than it should be; perhaps it should be continued in a FanPost. The point here is that, in compliance with the current player conduct policy, Lynch’s traffic ticket did not warrant any punishment.

by Brian Galliford on Jul 29, 2008 9:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs