Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell facing 4-game ban for missed drug test

[RuthlessBurgher]

Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell facing 4-game ban for missed drug test


9:19 AM ET
ESPN.com news services

Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le'Veon Bell is facing a four-game suspension for violation of the NFL's drug policy, sources told ESPN's Dan Graziano.

The suspension is the result of a missed drug test, not a failed one, sources said. The reason it hasn't yet been announced is that the appeal process is still going on.

No date for Bell's appeal has been set, though it's expected that it will be heard before the start of the regular season. If it's not overturned, he would miss the first four games of the season.

Bell was suspended for the first three games of 2015, which was later reduced to two games, for a violation of the policy on substances of abuse after he was arrested for marijuana possession and DUI in the summer of 2014.

[URL]http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/17124034/pittsburgh-steelers-rb-leveon-bell-facing-four-game-ban-missed-drug-test[/URL]

[Steelhere10]

Bell on that dope again.

Facing four game suspension.

[Steelhere10]

He can kiss his 15 a year demand out the door. Dumb

[RuthlessBurgher]

First 4 games of the season:

at Washington
vs. Cincinnati
at Philadelphia
vs. Kansas City

[Slapstick]

That's not how you get 15 a year and he knows this.

[pfelix73]

No excuses for missing a test. What a dumba$$.

[Slapstick]

It was great of the NFL to wait after Arian Foster signed with another team before leaking this...

[feltdizz]

It was great of the NFL to wait after Arian Foster signed with another team before leaking this...

We have D'Angelo, we are ok.

but umm, I think its safe to say these new Steelers love that weeeeed.

[feltdizz]

Mark Madden awaits your apologies fellas

[RuthlessBurgher]

DeAngelo Williams ran the ball 200 times for us last season for over 900 yards (4.5 avg) plus another 40 catches for over 360 yards (9.2 avg) and scored 11 TD's. I think we'll be fine with him handling the load against Washington, Cincy, Philly, and K.C.

[Slapstick]

We have D'Angelo, we are ok.

but umm, I think its safe to say these new Steelers love that weeeeed.

Personally, I think Bell should go full Brady and take it to court...he should claim that, in the offseason, he's not a NFL Player (I believe they get paid by the game) but a rapper. As a rapper, part of his job is smoking weed. Is the NFL going to deny him the ability to work?

[Flasteel]

Without some legitimate mitigating factor, this paints him as one of the dumbest human beings on the planet. How do you not check yourself after the same thing happens to Martavis Bryant?

[RuthlessBurgher]

Mark Madden awaits your apologies fellas

Le’Veon Bell previously denied he missed test, but rumor of potential suspension was accurate

Posted by Mike Florio on July 22, 2016, 10:04 AM EDT


Last month, in response to rumors that Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell had missed a drug test. He denied that he missed or otherwise failed a test. But that doesn’t mean the issue didn’t exist.

With the news that Bell is facing a four-game suspension for missing a drug test, the rumor is now truth. Whether that becomes a suspension will be the subject of the internal appeal process.

The good news for Bell is that, in 2014, the league office relinquished (somehow) the Commissioner’s final-say authority over the substance-abuse policy. Bell’s appeal will go to a panel of neutral arbitrators, who will decide whether Bell indeed missed a test or whether he has an excuse for what may have been a miscommunication or mistake.

It’s not yet known whether or to what extent Bell has a viable defense. Frankly, none of the information about Bell’s status should be known to anyone. But the confidentiality provision of the substance-abuse policy typically is violated, at times by the league itself through a league-owned media company that has no qualms about disclosing that a player who has yet to be suspended (and may never actually be suspended) is facing a suspension.

[URL]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/07/22/leveon-bell-previously-denied-he-missed-test-but-rumor-of-potential-suspension-was-accurate/[/URL]

[Shoe]

We have D'Angelo, we are ok.

but umm, I think its safe to say these new Steelers love that weeeeed.

Agree that DeAngelo is a good alternative. But I don't think it is safe to assume that a 32-year old guy can dial it up like we'd all like to think. I think part of why he played so well last year, was that he had so much to prove to people (in CAR) who cut him loose. Now, not so much.

I think we get a dependable but less dynamic DeAngelo this year. But I don't expect him to produce as he did last year.

On a related note, this can be a good thing when it comes to signing Bell, if he can learn to control his need for weed. Obviously, this favors the Steelers in contract negotiations. Also, it forces him to take some mileage of his tires... For a guy who's established such a star, he's missed good chunks of time due to the hippy lettuce and his unfortunate injuries.

[AzStillers1989]

Amazing.........