Linebacker Aldon Smith has been in and out of trouble since entering the NFL in 2011, and his recent arrest caused a big blow to his career. The San Francisco 49ers released Smith on Friday after he was arrested on Thursday night on charges of DUI, hit and run, and vandalism.
The arrest was the third suspicion of drunken driving against the 25 year-old since 2011. He was booked into the Santa Clara County jail and released Friday on a $26,000 bond. Smith mentioned that "justice will be served" as he was leaving the jail, saying that the situation was handled wrong and that there was no DUI.
These comments were before he was released, as San Francisco general manager Trent Baalke met with Smith later Friday afternoon.
49ers coach Jim Tomsula rescheduled a team meeting and postponed the team's media availablity until Friday night due to this situation. Tomsula stated that these postponements were because players were hurting about the troubles of Smith.
Details of the arrest were released on Friday, including that a call was made at 8:46 p.m. local time to report a disturbance involving a crash. Officers say that Smith struck a parked vehicle while parking, and then exited his vehicle to cause more damage to the parked vehicle with his car door.
The linebacker was not at the scene and did not leave identifying information, but did return to the accident and was arrested. The investigation is ongoing, according to police.
Since Smith has played four seasons in the NFL, and played at least six games in each season, he automatically becomes a free agent.
The former 49er was arrested on a DUI charge in January of 2012, but that charge was reduced to reckless driving. He then faced three felony weapons charges from a June 2012 party. Several shots were fired and Smith was stabbed at the party. He pleaded not guilty and got the charges reduced.
He was then arrested for another DUI after a car accident in September of 2013, but he voluntarily entered rehab and missed five games. He was then sentenced to 11 days of work release for a DUI charge in July of 2014.
The troubles continued that summer, as he was suspended for the first nine games of the season in August for violating the league's substance-abuse policy in connection to the 2013 arrest.
He was also arrested in April of 2014 when he was randomly selected for a secondary screening at a Los Angeles Airport and became uncooperative. He told an agent that he had a bomb, but no charges were filed.
All of these incidents have finally caught up to Smith, with this recent arrest being the final straw for now. Questions have surfaced about whether or not this will be the end of Smith's career, or if a team will give him another chance. One thing is for certain, no team will pick him up right away, giving him more than enough time to handle these recent charges.
The arrest was the third suspicion of drunken driving against the 25 year-old since 2011. He was booked into the Santa Clara County jail and released Friday on a $26,000 bond. Smith mentioned that "justice will be served" as he was leaving the jail, saying that the situation was handled wrong and that there was no DUI.
These comments were before he was released, as San Francisco general manager Trent Baalke met with Smith later Friday afternoon.
49ers coach Jim Tomsula rescheduled a team meeting and postponed the team's media availablity until Friday night due to this situation. Tomsula stated that these postponements were because players were hurting about the troubles of Smith.
Details of the arrest were released on Friday, including that a call was made at 8:46 p.m. local time to report a disturbance involving a crash. Officers say that Smith struck a parked vehicle while parking, and then exited his vehicle to cause more damage to the parked vehicle with his car door.
The linebacker was not at the scene and did not leave identifying information, but did return to the accident and was arrested. The investigation is ongoing, according to police.
Since Smith has played four seasons in the NFL, and played at least six games in each season, he automatically becomes a free agent.
The former 49er was arrested on a DUI charge in January of 2012, but that charge was reduced to reckless driving. He then faced three felony weapons charges from a June 2012 party. Several shots were fired and Smith was stabbed at the party. He pleaded not guilty and got the charges reduced.
He was then arrested for another DUI after a car accident in September of 2013, but he voluntarily entered rehab and missed five games. He was then sentenced to 11 days of work release for a DUI charge in July of 2014.
The troubles continued that summer, as he was suspended for the first nine games of the season in August for violating the league's substance-abuse policy in connection to the 2013 arrest.
He was also arrested in April of 2014 when he was randomly selected for a secondary screening at a Los Angeles Airport and became uncooperative. He told an agent that he had a bomb, but no charges were filed.
All of these incidents have finally caught up to Smith, with this recent arrest being the final straw for now. Questions have surfaced about whether or not this will be the end of Smith's career, or if a team will give him another chance. One thing is for certain, no team will pick him up right away, giving him more than enough time to handle these recent charges.
