Princeton Students Big Mad After Marshawn Lynch Announced as Class Speaker

Marshawn Lynch is a man of few words. When the former(?) Seahawks running back does decide to speak he often drops some jewels. This makes it particularly interesting that this is the speaker Princeton students have a problem with.

According to USA Today, a group of seniors at Princeton has written an open letter protesting the choice of Lynch as their class speaker. He won’t speak at their graduation ceremony but during “Class Day.” Organized by the senior class, “Class Day” is an event that celebrates honorary class members. In the letter, the students wrote: “Many of us were disappointed when we saw that this year’s speaker was to be Marshawn Lynch, mainly because we did not feel included in the process by which this speaker was nominated and finally selected.”

The letter goes on to state that in the case of prior speakers such as Ellie Kemper and Cory Booker, they either were a Princeton graduate or represented the state of New Jersey so by default they represent Princeton. It also brings up Lynch’s history of tense interviews with the press during his time in the NFL. It goes to show that the students that wrote this letter aren’t too aware of Lynch’s efforts outside the NFL.

While Marshawn “I’m just here so I don’t get fined” Lynch does have a history of not talking I don’t think the man would take the gig just to tell some graduates “You know why I’m here,” for an hour. In recent years he’s shown himself to be an open interviewer and just recently gave a heartfelt speech promoting NFL players to take care of their mental, physical and financial health. 

Lynch was famously frugal during his time in the NFL. While he may not be the most traditional orator, he definitely could put the students on game. Hopefully, they’ll be open to hearing what he has to say.