Le’Veon Bell Claims He Smoked Marijuana Before NFL Games

The former Steelers running back claims he performed well in games after he smoked.

Former All-Pro running back Le’Veon Bell made a name for himself for his play on the field but also gained some infamy during his playing days for his marijuana use. The former star tailback was suspended several times during his career as a result of his habit and apparently was high during some of his better games. 

“I feel like I got a misconception about me with the whole weed thing,” Bell said on the Steel Here podcast. “I was wrong just cuz I shouldn’t have smoked in the car, regardless. But looking back at this, that’s what I did. When I was playing football, I smoked, bro. Even before the games I would smoke. I’d go out there and run for 150 [yards] and two [touchdowns].” 

When speaking about smoking in the car, Bell was referring to a 2014 incident in which he was arrested for driving under the influence and marijuana possession. As a result, he was suspended for two games to start the ’15 season. He was suspended again for the first three games of the ’16 season for failing a random drug test. 

At the time of his suspensions, Bell was one of the premier running backs in the NFL on one of the best offenses in the league with the Steelers. He was criticized heavily for the suspensions, but apparently the marijuana was a consistent factor in some of his better games.