Le’Veon Bell Was Banned From Taking A High School Student To Prom

Le’Veon Bell is an awesome football player that was going to do a pretty awesome thing. Unfortunately, flawed public relations from a local school district stepped in the way.

Bell received a request on Twitter from 17-year-old Steelers fan Ava Tarantino to act as her prom date in a similar fashion to other celebrities and athletes in the past.

Pittsburgh’s running back then responded by upping the ante when it comes to what was required to make it happen.

From there, Tarantino picked up enough support and Bell, true to his word, made a commitment to follow through and take the junior from Waukesha to prom.

However, the goodwill generated by this gesture came to a swift halt, as Waukesha School District spokeswoman Terry Schuster put a stop to the event. According to Annysa Johnson of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Schuster stepped in citing the fact that “district policy bars from the dance guests who have been involved in drug, alcohol or violent criminal incidents.” As you might remember, Bell was suspended by the NFL for marijuana use and DUI.

“You can Google Mr. Bell. We have to be equitable in the way we treat our students,” Schuster said. “We don’t even know if this is a real commitment.”

As part of the district’s public comments, Bell is reportedly allowed to accompany Tarantino to “public events” but not to the dance itself. The father of the young woman was quoted as saying that Bell is “not her date” but rather a celebrity, to the point where Mr. Tarantino believes the entire situation “speaks very highly of who (Bell) is as a person.”

The local school district apparently disagrees, though, and this is a simple instance of overreaction to a non-story. What harm could come of Bell using his fame to spread a positive experience for a young fan? Well, apparently enough to the point where he simply won’t be allowed to follow through on a commitment he made publicly.