Princeton students 'disappointed' with Marshawn Lynch as class speaker

March 3 (UPI) -- Princeton University students voiced their displeasure with the school's announcement of NFL running back Marshawn Lynch as their senior Class Day speaker in June.

Princeton announced Lynch as the speaker last week, saying "we wanted a Class Day speaker who unapologetically embodied and advocated for our own identities and values." The announcement of Lynch as the speaker prompted senior students to call out the school's Class Day co-chairs in an op-ed piece for the school newspaper.

"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 op-ed read. "... Saying that Lynch has 'unapologetically embodied and advocated for our own identities and values' [as stated in the University's official Instagram post] without actually consulting us, the Princeton community, is paradoxical and thus questionable.

"We do not mean to criticize this choice of speaker in particular, but rather want to call attention to the opaque selection process for Class Day speakers."

The three Class Day co-chairs are students at Princeton.

"Our goal was to invite a speaker who embodies the various experiences we have shared as a community during our Princeton tenure; someone whose professional and personal passions speak to the service-focused and intellectually rigorous interests core to the university," the co-chairs said in a statement.

The former Seattle Seahawks star, nicknamed "Beast Mode," is known throughout the league for his physical running style and his viral engagements with media members. In the op-ed piece that was published Friday, students questioned Lynch's previous interactions with the media during NFL press conferences.

"Among articles that praised his NFL career and philanthropic contributions, we came across articles discussing Lynch's reticence with the media and his terse responses at press conferences," the op-ed read. "In 2013 and 2014, for example, Lynch was fined $50,000 and $100,000 for refusing to speak to the media.

"During the 2015 Super Bowl media day, Lynch famously responded to multiple questions with variants of 'I'm just here so I won't get fined.' With no other frame of reference, such reports caused confusion over the set of criteria that led to his nomination."

The previous two Class Day speakers at the school have been actress Ellie Kemper, a Princeton alum, and New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker.

Lynch, 33, a native of Oakland and Cal alum, came out of retirement last season and returned to the Seahawks for the team's playoff run. The upcoming free-agent running back has played 13 seasons in the league between the Buffalo Bills, Seahawks and then-Oakland Raiders.

Princeton's Class Day is scheduled for June 1, one day before commencement.