Don’t get me wrong. I love American Football. Once you get passed the adverts and into the nuances of the game it’s a brilliant sport filled with skill positions. However, some of the guys who play the sport have to be some of the dumbest human beings in existence.
My reason for writing this article is that on Wednesday, the TWO top running backs for my favourite team, The Pittsburgh Steelers, were arrested for driving under the influence and possession of marijuana. Wednesday was the day that they were travelling to play Chip Kelly’s Eagles. The starting running back, Le’veon Bell, is quoted in the affidavit, released from WPXI, as saying,
”I didn’t know you could get a DUI for being high. I smoked 2 hours ago. I’m not high anymore. I’m perfectly fine. Why would I be getting high if I had to make it my game”.
When the office in question asked what game Bell continued on,
“I have to be on my plane at three….I play for the Steelers”.
LeGarret Blount, no joke, Blount, was the second team member in the car with Bell. Blount is meant to be a veteran, providing a good example for the rookies and the younger players on the team. Bell is currently headed into his second season.
It’s likely they won’t face any punishment handed down by the NFL until next season. The severity of the punishment for a first time offense has been about a one game ban in the past
It’s not just these two dopes either. AFC North rival, The Cleveland Browns, are currently awaiting judgement on their star, league leading wide receiver Josh Gordon. If his appeal is found wanting he will likely stand to have an indefinite ban with the option of applying for reinstatement after one year. This is a man who would have stood to pull in ten of millions of guaranteed money. Now pundits, writers and even some former players are saying that the Browns should cut ties with Gordon completely.
All these players have to do is keep themselves clean for 7-10 years of their lives and then they can go and do all the crazy shit that they want. It isn’t a huge amount of time when you think about it in respect to what they stand to gain. It just perplexes in some ways, how these players, who know how strict the league can be in relation to this kind of rule breaking still manage to mess up. If they aren’t going to keep themselves clean (we all like to relax someway) they should at the very least be smart about it and how they do it. It doesn’t take much.
Gordon was subject to up to something like 60 tests as per NFL rules. He also was banned for the first two games of last season. HOW STUPID DO YOU HAVE TO BE? Bell and Blount will now be under much more scrutiny from the NFL and its testers and frankly, they deserve to be.
You’re responsible for what’s in your body whether it’s performance enhancers or the smallest amount of marijuana.
Rant over.
Simon Traynor