Former NFL running back Le’Veon Bell has accused Adam Gase, his former head coach with the New York Jets, of using cocaine in his office at the team facility, alleging during a podcast appearance that he personally witnessed it before practice.
The claim, made on Justin Laboy’s “Respectfully” podcast and reported by Fox News Digital, has not been independently corroborated in the supplied source material. Fox News Digital reported that the Los Angeles Chargers, where Gase is now pass game coordinator under Jim Harbaugh, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bell and Gase overlapped with the Jets beginning in 2019, a turbulent period for both. Gase went 9-23 as New York’s head coach before being fired after the 2020 season. Bell, who signed with the Jets after a contract dispute with the Pittsburgh Steelers led him to sit out the 2018 season, was released two games into the 2020 season.
What Bell said
On the podcast, Bell criticized Gase’s coaching and then escalated the accusation when Laboy pressed him about what Bell said happened inside the coach’s office. Bell said Gase used “white girl,” a slang term for cocaine, and made a snorting gesture, according to the report.
Bell described the alleged incident as occurring shortly before practice. “We got practice in 28 minutes. We got walkthrough, bro. This is what you’re doing in here?” he said on the podcast, according to Fox News Digital.
Bell also claimed the conduct was not isolated. “It wasn’t just one time,” he said, adding that he had heard other stories before allegedly seeing it himself. The report did not include additional evidence, witnesses or a response from Gase.
The football backdrop
Gase was hired by the Jets after serving as head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2016 to 2018, where he went 23-25 and led Miami to a 10-6 season in 2016. Before his head-coaching stops, he worked his way through NFL staffs, including time with the Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers and Denver Broncos, where he became offensive coordinator.
After the Jets fired him, Gase was not on an NFL coaching staff for several seasons, though the report said he consulted at times, visited the Denver Broncos during the 2023 and 2025 offseasons and worked with The 33rd Team as a strategic adviser in 2024.
Bell’s best years came with Pittsburgh, which selected him in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft out of Michigan State. He was a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro with the Steelers, rushing for 5,336 yards with 42 total touchdowns over five seasons there. His post-Pittsburgh career included stops with the Jets, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Tampa Bay Buccaneers before he left football in 2021.
The central question remains whether Bell’s allegation draws any response from Gase, the Chargers or others with direct knowledge of his time with the Jets. For now, the public record in the supplied reporting is Bell’s claim and the Chargers’ lack of immediate comment.
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