Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell said his three-game suspension was his fault, and that he was done talking about the situation.
Bell just posted a 61-second video on Twitter about his three-game suspension, saying “this is the last time I’ll speak about it.”
He apologized to Steelers fans for the missed time, saying he “never purposely missed any drug tests, I never failed any drug tests, and I haven’t smoked since December 2014. I want you to understand that.”
Bell explained that after having surgery in November, he was unable to get to the team facility for random tests in December and January. He said he slept through a test in April on a Saturday morning “at 5:37.”
“I was sleeping and that’s on me,” he said.
Bell also promised: “You will get a better person and a better player out of this.”
As part of the negotiation between the league and the NFLPA, he was able to stay at the same level of the league’s substance abuse program, which means another missed test or failed test would result in a four-game ban rather than a 10-game suspension.
But if he’s a man of his word, that shouldn’t be a problem.