Steelers INTEGRITY in Question...

From an article in SuperBowl Nation....Neither player should play September 7th against Cleveland, Otherwise Tomlin and this organization are stupid and not sending a message to the other players on the team, the fans and the league that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated! Let's see what the do! Who believes that they will both play in the opener??


Was playing Le'Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount more Thursday a justifiable punishment? No. They shouldn't have even been on the field.

Bam Morris was kicked off the Steelers for possession of pot.

Once upon a time, the Steelers kicked a very talented running back off of their squad because he made an illegal decision. Arguably the team's best player months earlier in Super Bowl XXX, the man that played a key role in that team's AFC championship run was gone because the Steelers had standards to uphold.

I miss those days.

That was 1996. In 2014, if you smoke pot, have possession of pot AND operate a vehicle while under the influence of pot AND get arrested for it, you get to play the following night.

Anyone else disgusted by this?

When I typed Pittsburgh Steelers on 9 p.m. on Thursday, August 21 on Google, the first thing I saw is the news that Le'Veon Bell and LeGarrette Blount were going to suit up against the Eagles despite being busted for possession of pot the previous day, with Bell being arrested for suspicion of operating a vehicle while being under the influence of pot.

Great public relations for the Steelers right there.

Mike Tomlin was quoted earlier in the day stating that Bell and "let's smoke a" Blount would play Thursday. So much for Tomlin's reputation as a disciplinarian. I'm sure his future speeches about integrity and accountability will be taken to heart by his players. They're probably thinking that if they play as well influential as Bell and Blount are to the team, there won't be any repercussion for poor decisions.

I'm not writing this to jump start a political argument, and I get that smoking pot isn't the worst thing in the world and it is even legal in Colorado. But it's still illegal in Pittsburgh. And even in Colorado, you CANNOT drive under the influence of an illegal substance that includes pot. I could maybe, possibly justify the two playing sparingly if it was just for possession of pot. But when a player is arrested for putting innocent people's lives at risk for driving stoned is unacceptable.

Credit also goes to Steelers management for bringing in Blount, who obviously has made a positive impact on the 22 year old Bell. Blount has a sparkling history of being a model person. Remember when he punched a defenseless opponent in the head following a game back in college? Hey Kevin Colbert, there's probably a reason Blount is playing for his third team in three years. There's a reason the Patriots dumped a guy that scored four touchdowns for them in one playoff game last season. Blount's got character issues. But I guess when you're 8-8 two straight years, trying to win games trumps integrity.

Bell and Blount don't deserve to wear the Black and Gold. That honor is held for men that represented Pittsburgh with the respect the city deserved. Joe Greene, Franco Harris, Jerome Bettis, James Farrior.

Speaking of Bettis, he was the running back Pittsburgh picked up to replace Morris. Safe to say, that turned out pretty well. Bettis was a Hall of Famer on and off the field. Bell and Blount can't hold a candle to him. The Bus is an example of when you do the right thing, good things normally follow.

In the first half Thursday, the entire Steelers team played like they were stoned. They trailed 17-0 at the half, looking listless and undisciplined for the most part. Le'Veon got his bell rung on an incomplete pass in the first quarter that drew a penalty. I guess the entire team is taking their cue from their running backs. I hope Troy and a few other Steelers other defensive vets get their (verbal and physical) shots on the two backs in training camp this week.
Blount did offer this apology Thursday night following the game: "I'm sorry for the distraction that I caused my team. I just want to apologize to my team and my coach and my organization for causing that distraction."
Tomlin offered this statement on the matter of whether to play of sit his running backs: "I didn't view it as punishment to send them home, to not play in this preseason game," Tomlin said. "I'd rather play them more than anticipated than to remove them from the game, so that's why we took the stance we took tonight. Obviously we've got some things to do regarding the matter moving forward but not a lot to say at this point and time."
Bell said that the team's lackluster effort was not due to any distraction caused by himself and Blount. "What happened yesterday had nothing to do with our performance tonight. We're not going to make an excuse for that performance. We're going to own that."

I hate writing this story. And I don't dislike Bell and Blount at all. I hope they find a way to turn this negative into a positive. I'm pulling for them, just as I would any other members of the Steelers. But I'm not giving them or the Steelers a pass just because they're my team. The Steelers dropped the ball by letting Blount and Bell play. But hey, if that's what the Steelers stand for these days, maybe it is fitting that Blount and Bell wore the Black and Gold Thursday night

 

I don't even know what to think about this. I realize that a lot of players smoke weed - but on the WAY to the team plane?? I mean how stupid do you have to be? I wouldn't have played them but, maybe, its like every other player who will be suspended during the regular season? Play now and sit after the season starts?

 

I'm glad Bell played last night. We'd have missed his 3 ypc terribly if he hadn't.

 

come on

Bam was indicted and convicted of federal drug trafficking MULTIPLE TIMES
yes the Steelers cut him after his bust of 5lbs of maryjane and a little bit of BLOW in 96

nowhere near the same as 20 grams of dirt weed

Bell and Blount are not a problem

and let us not forget


Holmes had other things too

 

I remember the Steelers of the 90's, I know what Cowher would do.

 

Come now folks.. Really? Do you think for one second that Tomlin did not want to bench these clowns? He made the right decision. He did not want to punish the entire team for their transgressions. I mean really . If they rode the pine it would literally have put the team in dire straits relative to practicing. In hindsight it looks as though it does not matter but we do know for a fact these guys will be dealt with .. I would have done the same thing only made them play longer and practice longer in the coming weeks.. Would not let them off at all

Bman

 

You think Cowher would have benched Bettis if he had got caught with weed? I'm not convinced, but even if you are right, times have changed. This is almost the norm these days. Players are now spoiled, selfish idiots who do whatever they want because of who they are. There's very little accountability or personal responsibility in the world these days, let alone among pro athletes.

So we can take a stand against this stuff, we can even cut players, but we'll be the only team in the league doing it and we'll suffer from a football point of view. The Steelers are a pro football team, not a church league team. We don't need a bunch of choir boys playing for us, we need good football players.

 

Do you think it would help if like "behavioral clauses" were put in contracts? Like you would start losing huge percentages of your guaranteed money for legal infractions or something? Also does anyone remember if Bettis got benched when that girl tried to shake him down for that sexual thing?

 

I'm sorry but I just can't get worked up over pot smoking anymore unless either player becomes a hardcore pothead. And as has already been pointed out, Bam Morris wasn't a case of possession ... he was a trafficker.

DUI was the far more serious offense, and IMO Bell should sit a game or more for it.

 

Such things are already in contracts, but they're rarely enforced. Dwayne Bowe has such a clause, but I would be surprised if KC actually takes money away from him. Teams are generally scared to enforce such clauses.

 

Well until they become unscared this is gonna probably happen more and more. Guys just don't see the risk outweighing the reward and I think that's the problem. I think the only way athletes really get hurt for their behavior is by losing endorsements. The owners don't seem to have the guts to enforce strict rules and consistent consequences.

 

I agree on taking the license away,
butt

a little part of me can see his dumba$$ driving on a suspended one

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Do PA DUI laws not result in a license suspension?

 

Okay, I'm not getting this. Everyone on here is screaming about how unimportant preseason is but to bench Bell and Blount for the Eagles game is punishing the whole team?

 

I've tried so hard to stay out of threads like these. I don't want to get into the "pot debate" but I just can't help it. This thread is trash. Absolute trash. So far off base that it is almost laughable. Our organizational integrity is questioned because we allowed our arrested players to play? We should've just cut these guys and been done with it? They don't deserve to wear the black and gold? Puh lease. The league will take care of suspending them, Tomlin doesn't need to do that. He can (and will) find other ways to punish them. Benching them in pre season would've been meaningless.

Believe it or not, pot and other drugs (cocaine, Molly, adderall, pain pills) are the culture of the NFL as they are in just about all professional sports. That's just the way it is, and there is no stopping it. Most of these guys smoked in high school, then in college (and got away with it with the help of joke NCAA "drug testing"), and do it in the NFL. These kids smoked pot. That's it. Was it illegal? Yes. Stupid? Yes. Big deal? No.

Is it worse than the guys who get DUI's for alcohol like Hines Ward? Or guys who abused illegal drugs or pain killers in the hof like Michael Irvin and (soon to be hof) Brett Favre? Definitely worse than guys who stayed relatively out of trouble throughout their career, but then shove a gun down their 12 year old son's throat like Greg Lloyd, right? How about the guys on our vaunted 70's teams in the "glory days" that used steroids? Because there are players that did. Some of whom are hof players as well. Do they not deserve the black and gold? Does Hines? All this does is show that athletes, while seemingly superhuman, are in fact human like the rest of us. They make mistakes. People just blow theirs out of proportion because they are in the limelight on espn. No one judges the routine 20 something kid who gets pulled over with weed, or clamors for them to lose their job...

It's a mistake that they will suffer consequences for, and hopefully learn from. They don't need to be treated like children or outcasts. The team should embrace them and help them be better for it, not ostracize them. Then they will never learn. I really hope this type of thread doesn't become the norm around the board for a while, or else I'll have to recuse myself from TSF.com for a while. I love talking football with everyone, but this topic is exhausted. Let's move on okay?

 

SGSteeler - Don't want to quote your entire post, but want to say that I couldn't agree more. Very well said. Drug laws are half the problem. Drugs aren't going anywhere, so we can continue to ostracize people that use them, or we can start to think outside the box for once.

 

Stupid article...the end.

 

the following all assume 1st offense and being accepted into ARD program

BAL below .10, no accident, property damage or injury no loss of license
.10 to <.16 results in 30 day loss of license
>.16 or DUI involving drugs 60 days loss of license

 

Pot is illegal in Pittsburgh and the NFL.

 

Excellent post.

 

They're lucky to play in the NFL, it's in their contract don't do drugs drug laws have nothing to do with it. If they want to smoke pot don't be a pro athlete. The team is paying them millions of dollars and they are about to show up to the team plane high, a lack of respect for their team and the whole organization.

 

They aren't lucky to play in the NFL, they've busted their @$$ and earned the privilege of playing in the NFL. Sure they were born with natural talent, but they got to the league on their own accord... so I wouldn't say "lucky". And while they shouldn't do drugs, about 2/3's of the league does. Some get caught, most don't. Instead of mommy putting them in timeout or taking away their allowance, the organization should talk to them, support them, and make sure they understand that they cannot do this again. You know, handle it like adults? Treating them like children gets you nowhere. They still have consequences to face from the NFL. It's not like they won't be punished.

And I said I was gonna move on from this.... Lol