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Tomlin: Bell's appeal won't be heard until August

Mike DiNovo / USA TODAY Sports

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said Thursday that Le'Veon Bell's appeal of his four-game suspension won't be heard until the second week of August.

Bell also confirmed that he plans to appeal "sometime in August."

"I don't want to be a distraction to my teammates or to Steelers Nation," Bell added, according to Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com. "So I'm just going to keep moving forward and let everything handle itself."

Bell was handed the suspension last week for missing multiple drugs tests, which the NFL considers on par with a failed test.

During his press conference Friday, Bell created an inconsistency in his story by saying he was informed of his failed test in March. It's contrary to his statement from June, when the running back said he hadn't missed or failed any tests.

Bell will be able to explain his reasoning for missing the tests during the appeal, but with it being his second incident in as many years, the NFL's stringent policy will mean a chance at reducing the punishment is unlikely.

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