Steelers halfback Le'Veon Bell said Thursday he was notified in March by the NFL that he had failed a drug test but declined to say what his appeal of a four-game suspension is based upon.
That appeal, coach Mike Tomlin said, will not take place until the second week of August.
"I'll just let it take its course," Bell said during an interview with the media late Thursday afternoon at Saint Vincent College, where the Steelers reported for training camp.
Bell, who made All-Pro in 2014, served a two-game suspension to start the 2015 season. He was charged with a DUI for using marijuana after the car he was driving was pulled over in August 2014, hours before he was to join his teammates on a flight to Philadelphia for a preseason game.
Even though he revealed Thursday that he was notified by the NFL in March about a failed drug test, Bell told reporters in June that he did not miss a test when rumors surfaced that he had.
"I'm fine," Bell said during spring practices. "I've missed no drug tests, I haven't failed any drug tests. I'm completely fine."
Asked about that statement Thursday, Bell declined to elaborate saying merely, "I know what I said, I said what I said, but I'm just going to let the appeal process handle itself."
