7 times star athletes publicly spurned the media for personal reasons

Marshawn Lynch famously coined the term "I'm just here so I don't get fined" at Super Bowl XLIX media day in 2015.

The former Seattle Seahawks running back made headlines that season for refusing to answer reporters' questions in postgame locker room scrums, responding to every query by simply saying "yeah," and only broke that pattern to give shoutouts to his philanthropy programs.

The NFL fined Lynch more than $200,000 for his refusal to answer questions. This led to Lynch's famous appearance at Super Bowl media day.

Before the Seahawks lost 28-24 to the Patriots in the Super Bowl, Lynch revealed his thoughts on the obligation of having to confront the media after games.

"I don't know what story you're trying to get out of me, I don't know what image y'all are trying to portray of me, but it don't matter what yall think, what y'all say about me," Lynch said.

"Y'all shove cameras and microphones down my throat. But when I'm at home in my environment, I don't see y'all, but y'all mad at me. And if you ain't mad at me, then what y'all here for? I ain't got nothing for y'all, though. I told y'all that."

Just two days after Naomi Osaka's withdrawal from the French Open, golfer Rory McIlroy pulled out of a pro-am and canceled his press conference ahead of the event.

Like Osaka, McIlroy cited personal reasons for the withdrawal, according to Rex Hoggard of Golf Channel.

Beyond that, McIlroy's decision remains largely a mystery. But the timing of it with the Osaka news will undoubtedly link the two as potential cornerstone moments in sports media history.

Before the 2020-21 season started, the Brooklyn Nets point guard released a statement saying that he would not speak to the media and instead "let his play speak for itself."

Irving even went so far as to say, "I don't talk to pawns. My attention is worth more." when he was fined for not talking to reporters early in the season.

"I pray we utilize the 'fine money' for the marginalized communities in need, especially seeing where our world is presently," Irving wrote. "[I am] here for Peace, Love and Greatness. So stop distracting me and my team, and appreciate the Art. We move different over here."

Irving and the Nets were fined a second time in May when he violated the NBA's media access rules for not showing up to a press conference after a loss to the Milwaukee Bucks.

Aaron Rodgers has expressed distrust and disdain for the media on multiple occasions.

During an interview with Mina Kimes of ESPN in 2017, the All-Pro quarterback opened up about how he sees the media and its agendas and didn't even shy away from addressing ESPN directly.

"There's some horrible media outlets that ... you say something or do something, where there's a story, and they just go with it and run with it," Rodgers said. "When somebody thinks of you a certain way that's not real, or says something about you that's not true, I ... you know, that's not me, you're not seeing me the right way."

In October, Rodgers unloaded an even harsher condemnation of sports media during his appearance on "The Pat McAfee Show."

"All the f---ing media does is write stories to get clicks," Rodgers said. "I could give a long answer about something, and they can take a blip of it and write a story about it that has nothing to do with what I was saying. "

This distrust has led Rodgers to personally record all of the interviews he does just in case something he says is misinterpreted or taken out of context.

Giannis Antetokounmpo rattled the NBA media world when he abruptly walked out of the Milwaukee Bucks' postgame press conference after a Game-6 loss to the Toronto Raptors in the 2019 NBA Eastern Conference Finals.

A question from ESPN reporter Malika Andrews about gaining NBA postseason experience prompted Antetokounmpo to leave the press conference prematurely, leaving teammate Khris Middleton to sit there and handle the rest of the session by himself.

Antetokounmpo's reaction may have been spurred by a controversial story that Andrews published immediately after the game ended.

The story called Antetokounmpo's future in Milwaukee into question after the loss, and Antetokounmpo read the story in the locker room before taking the podium and was reportedly not happy about it, according to Stephen A. Smith of ESPN.

Cam Newton has been chummy with the media throughout his NFL career, but the Pro Bowl quarterback has still blown off reporters in frustrating moments.

The most famous incident came after he and his former team, the Carolina Panthers, lost Super Bowl L to the Denver Broncos in 2016.

After two and a half minutes of short answers with no actual context, Newton prematurely got up and walked out of the press conference when he was asked about how disappointed he and his teammates were. Newton uttered, "I'm done," as a final remark.

Russell Westbrook is notorious for his reluctance to speak to the media, but when he does talk to them, he doesn't use a filter.

Westbrook once told a reporter to answer his own question after a loss in 2018 and even said, "don't ask me dumb questions" afterward.

In 2015, after a victory against the Warriors, Westbrook was asked by a reporter if he was upset about something. Westbrook responded by saying, "I just don't like you."

Other times Westbrook has just refused to answer questions by saying "next question" or "no more questions for you" to certain reporters, and has also included aggressive profanity in his answers.