For those that missed it over the weekend, 49ers rookie Aldon Smith was arrested in Miami Saturday morning for suspicion of driving under the influence. Matt Barrows had some details from the Miami-Dade police department. According to the police report, Smith was observed swerving on the MacArthur Causeway in Miami Beach and was pulled over at a little after 4:30am. He failed a field sobriety test and then spent 3 1/2 hours in a correctional facility before posting the $1,000 bond and being released.
The 49ers issued a basic statement indicating they would not comment further given that it is an ongoing legal matter. I would imagine Jim Harbaugh will chat with him sometime soon. Coach Harbaugh went through his own DUI in 2005 while he was head coach at the University of San Diego. We'll never hear the conversation Harbaugh and Smith have, but I would love to be a fly on the wall for that one.
Thoughts on DUIs aside, this operates as a significant learning experience for the budding young star. This is the first time he's gotten into trouble (at least, as far as I can tell). People make mistakes and all we can ask is that he learns from this mistake and becomes a little smarter because of it. I don't think it is much more complicated than that at this point. He shouldn't have made the mistake in the first place, but it happened and it is time to grow from that. I'd imagine Coach Harbaugh will have something along those lines to say to him in the coming days, if they haven't spoken already.