The San Francisco 49ers formally released Aldon Smith on Friday following his arrest earlier in the morning on DUI, hit-and-run and vandalism charges. The team issued the following statement with the announcement:
"This organization has tried very hard to help Aldon fight his issues. Although he is no longer a member of this team, our support and concern for him will continue."
And just like that, it's over. Smith has plenty to deal with on a variety of levels. He has the basic legal issues, a potential NFL suspension, and of course most importantly, his own personal demons. He claims there was no DUI, but the team has in fact decided this is the last distraction. Hopefully, Aldon can figure things out and clean up his life. Hopefully this is rock bottom for him and he realizes he needs to get his life in order.