Le’Veon Ball is attracting quite a bit of drama. On Thursday, the Pittsburgh Steelers running back was quoted as saying that if the Steelers franchise him again, retirement is an option (which you can read about here). Shortly thereafter, Bell took to Twitter to make it clear where his focus is.
I’m trying to win a super bowl…I can care less about what happens after this season…my biggest thing I’m focused on is this team I’m on right now, playing for/with my brothers, & bringing back a 7th ring! what happens next year is irrelevant to my goals
— Le'Veon Bell (@LeVeonBell) January 11, 2018
There’s a fair amount to digest here.
First of all, we’re going to assume that Bell meant that he “couldn’t care less.” It sounds picky, but saying “I can/could care less” implies that it’s something you really care about. That seems to be the opposite of what Bell is trying to convey.
In this case, we understand the typical expectation that a player — especially a star — is supposed to be locked into a playoff game. So, we can probably assume that for the second year in a row, coach Mike Tomlin is a little miffed at one of his offensive stars during the playoffs.
But we also understand Bell’s initial comments.
It’s only natural for a pending free agent to think of his future. Winning on Sunday would be nice for Bell. But ultimately, this is his job and the objective at a job is usually to make as much money as possible. Football is a business, after all. That applies to teams and players, alike. So, we totally understood where Bell was coming from.
Perhaps saying “I can care less” was more of a Freudian slip than an actual mistake.
These comments just seem like an awkward backtrack. Because, if Bell truly couldn’t care less about his contract situation, it’s highly unlikely that he would have brought it up to begin with.
So, while Bell is shifting his focus to the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday, maybe he really could care less.