Despite an inauspicious beginning to the season - an arrest for DUI and marijuana possession - Pittsburgh Steelers' running back Le'Veon Bell has managed to turn himself into one of the most exciting young players in the game.
A serious combination of speed, power, and nimbleness have helped him to serve notice in Pittsburgh and around the NFL that he is a new force to be reckoned with, and has helped him become the league's second-leading rusher with 542 yards in six games, averaging 5.2 yards per carry.
But that inauspicious beginning to the season is not going to go away so easily.
Bell's attorney told the Associated Press today that Bell will waive his right to a preliminary hearing on charges of marijuana possession and driving under the influence of drugs.
Bell and fellow Steelers running back, LeGarrette Blount, were arrested Aug. 20 after a motorcycle officer in Ross Township, outside of Pittsburgh, smelled marijuana coming from a vehicle the men were in with a female friend.
According to a criminal complaint, Bell initially denied having any marijuana in the vehicle before the officer asked Bell, whose "eyes were red and glassy," and the others whether they had smoked pot that day.
"It was about a minute ago," Bell replied.
When the officer asked him to clarify, Bell said, "We smoked within the last two hours," and shortly thereafter all three occupants told the officer "they just picked up the marijuana and that they each pitched in to buy it."
Advised that he would be charged with driving under the influence, Bell said, "I didn't know that you could get a DUI for being high. I smoked two hours ago. I am not high anymore. I am perfectly fine," the complaint said.
Police seized about 20 grams of marijuana from the vehicle.
Bells' decision means that he and his attorney acknowledge that police have enough evidence for the charges to go to Common Pleas Court, where Bell will be forced to either plead guilty to some or all of the charges or stand trial.
If Bell is convicted of the DUI charge, he would face a two-game suspension under the NFL's new drug policy, which was agreed upon last month.
