It was bad enough when the NFL suspended Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell for two games because of his DUI and marijuana possession arrests.
But now he can’t go to the prom.
According to Annysa Johnson of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, school officials in Wisconsin said they won’t allow him to attend the prom which he promised to attend with a 17-year-old fan as part of a Twitter bet.
The Waukesha school district cited a policy which prohibits guests from the dance if they have been involved in drug, alcohol or violent criminal incidents, or if they’re over 19. There are other events around the prom he apparently can attend, but not the dance itself.
“You can Google Mr. Bell,” school spokeswoman Terry Schuster said. “We have to be equitable in the way we treat our students. We don’t even know if this is a real commitment.”
Ava Tarantino, 17, has been a Steelers fan for years, and met her favorite running back during a road trip with her family. A Twitter friendship ensued, and when she asked him to be her prom date if she could get 500 retweets of the request, he obliged after upping the ante to 600. It has since been retweeted over 2,000 times.
welllll, a deal is a deal @avatarantino26 ......see youu at your prom 😊
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) March 12, 2017
“He said he’s coming for sure. I’m so excited,” Tarantino said.
Tarantino’s father said while he understands the policy, he’s disappointed for his daughter and impressed with Bell’s willingness to honor his commitment.
“But I think, in this case, he’s a celebrity. He’s not her date,” he said. “And I think the fact that he’s agreed to do this and to bring his family, speaks very highly of who he is as a person.
“I’m hoping we can come to something that would be beneficial for everybody.”
Bell said he was still coming, and bringing his mother and girlfriend to help with Tarantino’s makeup for the event, even if he won’t get to dance with his “date.”