Flu game? New York Jets RB Le'Veon Bell says he bowled his best score ever while sick
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — New York Jets running back Le'Veon Bell has taken some criticism for going bowling Saturday night, just hours after he was ruled out of Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins because of the flu.
Bell admitted he didn't expect the excursion to become such a big story. But that wasn't the most unexpected thing about his trip to the lanes.
"The bigger surprise is a rolled a 251 off the flu," Bell said, laughing. "That's the bigger surprise. That's my career-high. Off the sickness."
Bell obviously knows his way around the lanes, because that's a seriously impressive score. Bell said his previous personal-best was 238, which he presumably bowled while fully healthy.
It wasn't a good look for Bell, or the Jets, when Bell's trip to the bowling alley became public knowledge on Monday night. If he wasn't healthy enough to play, how he healthy enough to stay out until 1 a.m. bowling?
Jets coach Adam Gase admitted it was a bad look earlier Tuesday, and Bell said he had a talk with his coach.
"He said, just [from a] 'certain perspective, it's going to look a certain way,'" Bell said. "So that's the only thing why I wish I wasn't seen doing it. But I don't feel bad about what I did. I didn't break any rules. I wasn't a distraction, until now, that you all seen me bowling. So that's it."
And once all the information emerged it's hard to disagree with Bell or find much fault with his decision. Bell says he's feeling much better and expects to play Thursday night when the Jets play at Baltimore.
Bell said he started feeling ill last Tuesday, and it got worse after he practiced on Wednesday. He missed practice on Thursday and Friday and a walk-through on Saturday. Late that afternoon, the Jets ruled him out of Sunday's game.
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When word of Bell's trip to the bowling alley broke on Monday, it didn't wasn't a good look for Bell or the team that he was healthy enough to bowl but not healthy enough to play.
But once more information came out Tuesday, it's pretty clear that this isn't a big deal.
Bell wanted to play in Sunday's game and tried to talk the medical staff into it, but they wouldn't let him. After the doctors ruled him out Saturday, because there were concerns about his energy and hydration after he lost nearly 10 pounds because of the illness, Bell said they advised him to get out of the house and be active.
"I had a lot of family and friends [in town] because they were expecting me to play [in the game]," Bell said. "Everybody was at my house just kind of looking at me. I felt better, a lot better, so we went out bowling and had fun."
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