Seahawks star running back Marshawn Lynch was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence Saturday, the San Jose Mercury News reported Monday night, taken to jail, then released.
The California Highway Patrol said Lynch, 26, was arrested after a traffic stop on Interstate 880 in his home town of Oakland.
CHP said that Lynch, the Seahawks’ leading rusher in 2011, was cooperative and submitted to a blood test. Lynch’s blood-alcohol level was over the .08 limit.
The Seashawks released a statement that said, “We are aware of the situation with Marshawn and still gathering information.”
The arrest was Lynch’s third police citation. In 2008 in Buffalo, where he was a first-round draft choice in 2007 out of Cal by the Bills, he pleaded guilty to having struck a female pedestrian outside a bar at 3:30 a.m. His driver’s license was revoked.
In 2009, he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor weapons charge and was suspended by the NFL for three games.
If convicted, the NFL could consider Lynch a repeat offender subject to a six-game suspension. In March, Lynch signed a four-year, $31 million contract extension.
Entering his sixth NFL season after a 2010 trade to Seattle, Lynch was the Seahawks’ leading rusher last year with 1,204 yards and a 4.2 yards per carry average with 12 touchdowns. In the 2010 playoffs, Lynch gained national fame with a 67-yard touchdown run, breaking several tackles, against the New Orleans Saints. The “Beast Quake” was one of the great plays in Seahawks history.
Lynch was in Oakland last week to award a scholarship to recent high school graduates through his foundation.
