See what we did there? No? Okay.
According the Associated Press, the case of San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith yelling “bomb” at Los Angeles International Airport earlier this month has been referred over to the city attorney for “misdemeanor consideration.” This would be a major get out of jail free card for Smith, who was seemingly facing the wrath of the justice system just a few short days ago.
It’s also a possible indication that authorities in Southern California might believe that Smith’s “threat” was merely a “joke.” Still, I double dare you to go to the closest airport and yell “bomb” and see what happens. Never mind, please don’t do it. That would likely carry a jail sentence for us normal folk.
It remains to be seen whether this will have any bearing on potential punishment from the National Football League. If Smith doesn’t face any prosecution at all, it would be hard for the brass in New York City to do anything about this one incident.
Still hanging over Smith’s head is the DUI arrest from early last season. While Roger Goodell has made a point of sticking it to players in the past, his comment on this specific situation last year led many, including myself, to believe that Smith would escape punishment after he spent time in a rehabilitation facility, missing five games (via ESPN).
Certainly, the issue here isn’t to discipline players. It’s to stop the behavior. Aldon has voluntarily said ‘I need help.’ We’re obviously there to support him, and the 49ers did a great job getting him into a facility to try to help. We support that.
San Francisco has less than two weeks to decide whether to pick up Smith’s fifth-year option for the 2015 season. Outside of that, the talk about it having to look for a pass-rush threat to replace Smith in the draft might have been overblown.
With that said, the authorities potentially letting Smith escape a serious charge here shouldn’t have much bearing on our opinions. Smith still needs help and has been nothing less than a black eye for the 49ers organization off the field. That much doesn’t change.
Photo: Geoff Burke, USA Today