Tatum Bell Luggage

Sour Grapes? Or Simply an Accident?

Tatum Bell was the back-up running back in Detroit, when the Lions signed former Cincinnati Bengals running back Rudi Johnson. Shortly after the signing, Bell was cut from the team. While Johnson was in a meeting with team management, Bell apparently took Johnson's luggage.

Speculation is that the act was done out of frustration by Bell after losing his job. Bell initially claimed he took the luggage by accident, thinking that it belonged to someone else. The Detroit Lions were able to determine that Bell was the culprit when management examined surveillance video from the team's facilities.¹

Bell reportedly took the luggage to the home of a female acquaintance and asked her to hold it for him. He has since returned the luggage and apologized for the incident. The Detroit Lions and Rudi Johnson have declined to press charges against Bell.¹

According to reports, Johnson's bag was returned empty, with Johnson's clothes, identification, $200 and credit cards still missing.²

The Mahalo Top 7

ProFootballTalk.com: Rudi's crazy day in Detroit (September 2, 2008)
Yahoo! Sports: Report: Tatum Bell is not taking his release well (September 3, 2008)
Scoresreport.com: Johnson stole Bell’s job; Bell stole Johnson’s luggage (September 2, 2008)
The FanHouse: Bell Thinks It Is Acceptable to Steal Someone's Bags (September 3, 2008)
DeadSpin: Note To Self: Do Not Let Tatum Bell Check My Luggage (September 3, 2008)
The Associated Press: Detroit RB Johnson says Tatum Bell took luggage (September 3, 2008)
Freep.com: Bell: 'I ain't no thief;' but Lions' Johnson doesn't believe him(September 3, 2008)