Le’Veon Bell was a NFL running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Up until the 2018 season, Bell was the number one for the Steelers for 5 years and has been their best starter in years which is a great accomplishment when talking about the 5 ringed Steelers.

However, Bell is not currently playing for the Steelers because of a contract issue. I support him on his decision, but his teammates do not. Even going to extent of trashing his locker. This is morally wrong and his teammates should be ashamed. Especially after what Bell has done for this franchise.

At the end of last season, Bell was offered a contract to extend his time with the Steelers and keep being the number one running back in the league. Bell declined the contract and simply asked for more money, but when the Steelers organization did not agree to these terms, things got a bit messy. And not just in his trashed locker.

In the NFL, if a player and their team do not come to an agreement on an offer by week 10, the NFL team is allowed to franchise tag them giving the player a set amount of money to stay on the team for one final year. If the player does not sign this contract and get to the practice fields by the end of week 10, the player is not allowed to play for the remainder of the season.

And unfortunately for Steelers fans and my fantasy football team, Bell did not report to practice by week 10 instead partying like nothing was happening back home.

This did not sit well with many people. And apparently his so called ‘teammates.’ A tweet by Jeremy Fowler from ESPN was sent out showing Steelers players trashing Le’Veon’s locker and ripping his name tag off for betraying them.

Sure, Bell did miss out on $15 million, but the decision he makes is his financial decision and is no ones business to tell him what he should or shouldn’t do. I know, that if I was offered any amount of money to do the things that I loved best, I would accept in a heartbeat.

Sports and other activities wouldn’t feel as much like a job as they do now and a waste of time. This is what angered fans and made Bell seem like a selfish player. But again, that is his own decision.

What kept fans from rebelling however, was a man named James Connor who was the young backup for Bell for the past seasons. When Bell decided not to play, Conner jumped on the roll and fit in very well racking up as many yards and touchdowns and Bell had done this early in the season before.

This pretty much confirms that Bell will be on another team next year. But was this a good way to say goodbye?

While fans may have changed their opinions by now, Bell’s ‘teammates’ still have not, which is pretty disappointing considering what he has done for his team. But he made a decision on his own and instead of accepting his decision, his teammates trashed on him. Literally.

What these players did was morally wrong. Bell did so much for this franchise in the past years and for his players to not support his decision to not play mind boggles me. Yeah, maybe they can be disappointed, but they have to step foot into his shoes and see his point of view even if you might have accepted that amount of money.

Luckily, I have gotten over Bell not playing for my fantasy team… mostly because it is not for money. But the Steelers organization needs to realize what impact he has made for this team.

As a running back, Bell has to get through the defensive line and is banged up after every single game. Bell has paid his dues, so his teammates need to realize that he deserves more. Not a trashed locker.