No matter how much money or fame a professional athlete makes, it still doesn’t allow them to escape the wrath of their mothers.

Case in point, Marshawn Lynch’s momma is growing tired of her son’s recent behavior according to a story in the San Francisco Chronicle.

“Somebody said his mom must have loosened the leash,” she said in an interview. “If I have to grab the leash back, I’ll do it. Whether you’re 22 or 52, I’ll do it.”

She said Marshawn Lynch, 22, has had trouble adjusting to his new life, the one with the $10 million in guaranteed money from a six-year, $18.9 million contract he signed after being the 12th pick of the 2007 NFL draft.

“It’s been a big culture change for him,” she said. “It’s a shock. It hasn’t really sunk in to Marshawn – the stardom and everything that goes with it. He doesn’t like the media attention. I told him at Cal, ‘You’re a role model now.’ ”

Another close friend, who didn’t want to be identified, said, “He’s a good person, but he’s hanging around with the wrong people. He needs to grow up.”

Marshawn seems like a good kid, but if the close friend is right and he’s hanging out with the wrong people, that’s not good.

When the dog-fighting story became public early last year, reports surfaced that Michael Vick was hanging out with the wrong people. Not that Lynch and Vick are the same person or that Marshawn is fighting dogs in his spare time, but friends can often have an influence on your behavior. And I’m sure it’s hard for these athletes to make millions of dollars and try to convince their childhood friends that they’re still the same person but in the case of Lynch, he needs to forget about impressing his crew and start cleaning up his act.

As Vick proved, all of the money and fame can be taken away in a heartbeat if you start getting mixed up in the wrong things off the gridiron.