Well, that was fast.
The San Francisco 49ers have apparently had enough of Aldon Smith and his antics and don’t care how many sacks he gets a season. The organization just handed him his walking papers following his latest arrest.
Reports the Associated Press:
Aldon Smith received second chance after second chance with the San Francisco 49ers, who parted ways with their troubled linebacker Friday following his fifth run-in with the law.
Only a few days earlier, general manager Trent Baalke expressed his desire to keep Smith beyond this season, which would have been a contract year. Instead Friday, Baalke and coach Jim Tomsula met with Smith at team headquarters after he left jail to inform him he was no longer part of the team.
“It’s a sad day,” Tomsula said during an emotional news conference. “This is a day that doesn’t have anything to do about football.”
Smith was arrested Thursday night — on a day off from training camp for players — the fifth legal run-in since the team drafted him in 2011. Tomsula spoke to a couple of players but planned a team meeting Friday afternoon.
“Guys care about him, we care about that guy, deeply,” he said.
Smith had said when camp began he was healthy and in great shape, “ready to go.”
Santa Clara police arrested Smith, and accused him of drunken driving, hit and run and vandalism.
Police said Friday that at 8:46 p.m., Smith collided with a parked vehicle while parking his car, then caused further damage to the parked vehicle with his car door.
Authorities said Smith then left the scene without reporting the collision or leaving any identifying information. He later returned to the parking area where he was contacted by officers. Smith displayed “objective symptoms of being under the influence of an alcoholic beverage. Officers administered a field sobriety test to Smith” and was arrested.
“Although he won’t be playing football for the San Francisco 49ers, he will be supported and helped, and he will not have to walk this path alone,” Tomsula said. “That comes from our ownership down. He will not have to walk this path alone. We’re not worried about football. It has nothing to do with football.”
On a related note, HBO’s Ballers is pretty damn good, eh?
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Photo: NBC Sports Video Screenshot
