Jets RB Le'Veon Bell has an announcement: he won't be taking anymore NFL random drug tests this season.
Bell revealed on Twitter that he had five HGH blood tests in the past 10 weeks, and simply put, he's fed up.
I done had 5 "random" HGH blood test in 10 weeks...@NFL I'm not doing another after today, whatever y'all lookin for it obviously ain't there & I'm not about to keep allowing y'all to stick me with those dirty ass needles..find the players who really do that HGH BS & get off me..
- Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) November 20, 2019
This isn't the first time a player has come out to say they are being asked to participate in multiple drug tests just a couple weeks apart. One example is Browns WR Odell Beckham Jr. has made it known in his Giants days that the NFL was putting him through too many.
With still a few weeks left in the season, it is possible the NFL comes right back to Bell for his sixth test of the year. And, well, he won't be taking part in it.
and I won't be doin it 🤷 https://t.co/m6hJgPIoNL
- Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) November 20, 2019
If he actually does refuse to take a test in the future, Bell would be suspended, per the NFL's Drug Policy, which states, "When a Player fails to appear for testing, the Parties, in consultation with the Independent Administrator, will determine the nature of the failure and the degree of the Player's culpability. If the failure to appear is determined to have been a deliberate effort to evade or avoid testing, then the failure will be treated as a Section 6 violation, subject to appeal."
That Section 6 violation, then, becomes the punishment for the player -- in this case, Bell. And he has a history with the drug policy.
Back in 2016 with the Steelers, Bell faced a four-game suspension for missing a drug test in June of that year. He was eventually found guilty of violating the league's substance abuse policy for marijuana, but saw his suspension reduced to three games. He was also arrested in 2015 for possession of marijuana, where he was also suspended.
However, Bell seems to have turned a new leaf, and doesn't want the NFL to keep drug testing him in a way he doesn't see as random. We'll see if he follows through with his promise -- if the NFL comes back for another test.