In Aldon Smith’s short professional career he’s already had his fair share of legal issues. The latest occurred a little over a week ago at Los Angeles International Airport when he implied to TSA officers that he might have a bomb on his persons. At that point he was detained by police.
From a legal standpoint, he could’ve faced felony charges for the false report of a bomb threat and would’ve faced jail time. As it turns out, he will just be charged with a misdemeanor. Needless to say, this is great news for the San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker. More good news in this bad situation is that by all first hand reports Smith didn’t seem to be under the influence of alcohol. This is good because just last September he was arrested on suspicion of DUI. All of Smith’s legal troubles seem to stem from alcohol so it’s good that this wasn’t alcohol related.
Smith seems to have dodged a pretty large bullet on the legal side but I don’t think he’ll be as lucky on the football side. The 49ers probably won’t end up suspending him but he will be facing a suspension directly from the league. With all of Smith’s issues, he still has never had an official suspension. Commissioner Roger Goodell could look to make an example out of Smith after this latest issue.
Suspensions aside, there has been a lot of talk about the 49ers needing to do the right thing and cut Smith. As I said when those talks first started, that just won’t happen. Smith is too great of a talent to just cut out of principle. Whether people like it or not, the more talent a player has the more he will be able to get away with off the field before he is let go. 49ers General Manager Trent Baalke put a different spin on it. He recently said that Smith won’t be cut because the 49ers are a family and families don’t just cast people off. While I agree with that principle, I just don’t know if that’s Baalke putting a PR spin on it or if that’s how he really feels. Either way, Smith isn’t going anywhere.
Aldon Smith needs to get his issues off the field straightened out. Football aside, I hope he does for his family’s sake and for his health. As of right now though, I see his on the field talent and off the field issues comparable to Lawrence Taylor. Although Taylor suffered from a different vice, he was never able to exercise his demons. Hopefully Smith gets on the right path and stays out of trouble from here on out.