Dear Le'Veon, “We’re so glad you’re outta here”: Bell cannot identify the women who stole $500,000 in jewelry and other items because -- who knows?

… will he ever play for the Jets?

TMZ Sports released an audio-tape yesterday of the call that former Pittsburgh Steeler Le’Veon Bell made to the police after a heist at his place.

Seems that two women made off with a watch, jewelry, and other items that Bell said were stolen when he was at the gym.

The dispatcher went through the usual litany of questions: What did they look like? What clothes were they wearing the last time you saw them? Where were you at the time?

Truth be told, even though TMZ provided the tape on its website, I did not have the stomach to listen to it.

How can you feel sorry for a guy who lost what police eventually estimated was over half a million dollars worth of “stuff” — but could not identify the women other than saying that they were “girlfriends” of his.

This occurred at his Hollywood, Florida home after he left to work out at the gym.

TMZ quotes the tape,

"When I left, [one of the women] was in the bed," Bell said on the 911 call ... "She was in the bed, not wearing clothes when I left. So, I didn't see her. You know what I'm saying."

And the other lady ... "She was in the bed too. They didn't have clothes on.”

June 21, 2019

Included in this was a “diamond Black Panther pendant,” according to TMZ.

The Hollywood, Fla. police say that the investigation is ongoing.

Analysis

After Bell sat out the 2018 football season with the Steelers after turning down their $14.5 million tender as a franchise player, the team decided not to franchise him for a third year, which they could have done.

So, Bell lost the $14.5 from last year after his agent, a genius by the name of Adisa Bakari, told him that he would make that and more with his next contract.

Few teams were seriously interested in Bell despite his having tremendous skills and numbers. Eventually, the New York Jets, looking for a great runner/receiver to complement their talented young QB, Sam Darnold, signed Bell to a contract that was less than what the Steelers had offered him a year earlier. Not only did Bell lose the $14.5 mil from 2018, he will be making less than if he had stayed with the team.

Remember, Bell is not exactly a Rhodes Scholar. He was arrested in his rookie season because he was not bright enough to know that if you are smoking weed in a moving vehicle, you should keep the windows up in your car.

Instead, Bell was arrested by a Pittsburgh motorcycle cop who smelled it, moved up beside the car, and made the arrest.

I know nothing much about smoking weed, but I do know from my college days, and from my days handling college players who experimented with it, that the smell can get you in trouble — and that you should not do so in a moving vehicle.

That cost him a few games because of NFL rules, along with losing money from his contract for that.

According to Spotrac, which follows the contracts of professional athletes, the Jets signed Bell to a four-year contract worth $52.5 million. That works out to $13.125 mil per year, they say. Of that, $27 million is guaranteed. Bell rejected the Steelers offer because only $33 mil was guaranteed.

[https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/new-york-jets/leveon-bell-12329/]

What a loser.

Still, this event shows why the Steelers were right in cutting him, and should have done so after he refused to show up for training camp for the second consecutive season last July.

Will he even play for the Jets?

The signing of Bell was controversial within the Jets organization, and it may have been the reason that they fired previous GM Mike Maccagnan. Right now, Bell does not realize that the New York media, particularly that which covers a losing franchise like the Jets, can be relentless.

They can be relentless with the Yankees, who win rather regularly, if they cannot defeat teams like the Red Sox. Think of what Bell is in for over the next few years.

For instance, according to one beat reporter for the Jets, Manish Mehta, the team had a strong disagreement about signing Bell to that contract. He tweeted,

Manish Mehta
@MMehtaNYDN

One disagreement between Adam Gase and Mike Maccagnan/Christopher Johnson...

Gase absolutely did not want to sign Le’Veon Bell, per sources. In fact, he made it clear that he didn’t want to spend a lot of money on any running back.

1:24 PM - 15 May 2019

In addition, ESPN insider made a comment in May after Maccagnan was fired, saying,

If there's a suitor, I could absolutely see the Jets trading him before the start of the season.

John Clayton to 93.7 The Fan, Pittsburgh

Gase had been made acting GM, but now his friend, former Eagles VP of Personnel Joe Douglas, a former colleague and friend of Gase’s, was hired as GM. And since then, Gase has said what a wonderful player and guy Le’Veon is.

That was before Bell decided to skip the OTA workouts. And who knows, he has not been in a training camp for the past three seasons, so he might now show up then either. 

Gase may change his mind between now and the start of the 2019 season in September.

Bell not sole cause of Steelers’ drama

The whole Bell contract situation was a tremendous problem for the Steelers last season, but much of that can be traced to not just him and Antonio Brown.

Make no mistake, 2019 is the season in which Mike Tomlin must eliminate the drama from the locker room. Last year, it was the Bell and Brown “As the World Turns” drama.

This year, the focus has to be on football because if the team does not make the playoffs this season, and almost everyone from Vegas to the pundits is predicting that the Browns will win the division [I am not one of that group]. If that happens again, the Steeler minority ownership, who outside of the Rooneys, who own just over 30 percent of the team, will be outraged.

While Bell was not the sole cause, he was a major distraction. And with the story about the women who pulled the half-million bucks heist from under Le'Veon's eyes, I am certainly happy that he is no longer a Steeler.