diff --git a/drivers/net/ibm_newemac/debug.c b/drivers/net/ibm_newemac/debug.c
index a2fc660ca5d4..86b756a30784 100644
--- a/drivers/net/ibm_newemac/debug.c
+++ b/drivers/net/ibm_newemac/debug.c
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@
 
 #include "core.h"
 
-static spinlock_t emac_dbg_lock = SPIN_LOCK_UNLOCKED;
+static DEFINE_SPINLOCK(emac_dbg_lock);
 
 static void emac_desc_dump(struct emac_instance *p)
 {