By Joe Hawkes

Aldon Smith, the football player’s, latest arrest Thursday night for a DUI, hit and run, and vandalism, (his fifth in three years), didn’t just bring a once promising career to a screeching halt, but may have torpedoed it especially in today’s “walk-on-the-straight-path” NFL.

And maybe that is what is best for Aldon Smith, the person.

Getting away from football and possibly being incarcerated might be what is needed to save the 25-year-old Smith, whose life is spiraling way out of control.

Smith was released from Santa Clara County Jail after posting a $26,000 bail Friday morning, and claimed his innocence to San Francisco station KTVU.

“The people who are faithful will remain faithful. . . . Simple as it is. Justice will be served. The truth will come out,” Smith said. “”It’s no DUI. And I’m sorry for anybody I let down.”

By then, the 49ers had enough of Smith, the football player, and his inability to stay out of trouble.

Per CSNBayArea.com 49ers’ Insider Matt Maiocco, Smith met with head coach Jim Tomsula, general manager Trent Baalke, and CEO Jed York Friday morning and was notified of his release from the organization that drafted the dynamic linebacker seventh overall in the 2011 NFL Draft.

“Although he won’t be playing football for the San Francisco 49ers, he will be supported and helped,” said an emotional Tomsula during the team’s press conference.

“And he will not have to walk this path alone. That comes from our ownership down. We’re not worried about football. The other thing I’d like to say, I understand the platform we are on. I understand where this goes in the news. What I’d like to say, is if one person out there reads this and you’re struggling, get help. Go get it. You’re worth it.You’re worth it. There’s value in every human being. Get the help. You don’t have to walk alone. Find it. It’s there. And although Aldon will not be playing football here, we will support him. He will not be alone.”

Surprisingly, Baalke, one of Smith’s biggest supporters, was not at the press conference and has not commented yet on the situation.

Smith, the football player, has been compared to soon-to-be Hall of Famer and former 49er Charles Haley, ferocious and nightmarish for offensive lineman. In Smith’s rookie season, the former Missouri Tiger broke Haley’s franchise record for sacks by a rookie with 14.

Haley recorded 12 sacks in his rookie season in 1986.

Haley, along with his presenter in this weekend’s Hall of Fame enshrinement, former 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo, spoke with Talk of Fame Network’s Clark Judge in Canton, Ohio and says he sees a lot of himself in Smith.

“He’s me,” Haley said. “When I came into the league, there was a 10-year-old inside of me screaming for help but was afraid to ask for help. I didn’t get help until after I was done with football. I was always wanting help but was afraid to get it.
“It hurts me because I feel I let the kid down. I wasn’t there when he needed me. I have to also understand that he has to take responsibility, too. He knew I’d be there within 24 hours if he needed me. He didn’t call out.”

After Haley’s behavior (from tantrums to allegedly urinating on former 49ers’ teammate Steve Young’s car) got too much for the 49ers (and even for DeBartolo), Haley was traded to Dallas in 1992, a move that DeBartolo still regrets to this day. The trade essentially shifted the power in the NFC from San Francisco to Dallas; as Haley went on to win three Super Bowls with the Cowboys after collecting two with the 49ers.

Haley is the only player in NFL history to win five Super Bowls (to go along with 100.5 career sacks) so his place in Canton is greatly deserved.

In 2010, Haley revealed that he struggles with a bi-polar condition.

For an organization that has been rocked by so much turnover in the offseason by player retirements (former All-Pro linebacker Patrick Willis, impressive rookie linebacker Chris Borland, and offensive tackle Anthony Davis), to free agent departures (Frank Gore (Colts), Michael Crabtree (Raiders), Mike Iupati (Cardinals), Perrish Cox (Titans), and Chris Culliver (Redskins), not to mention the departure of former head coach Jim Harbaugh to the University of Michigan, the 49ers just could not take another blow on the football field.

With Smith’s release, a once mighty defense (fifth) in 2014 still has depth at outside with Ahmad Brooks, Aaron Lynch, Corey Lemonier and rookie Eli Harold. Smith was suspended for the first nine games in 2014, but the defense still played well during his absence.

But Smith, the football player, is a game changer. In 2012 as a full-time starter, Smith became the fastest player in league history to reach 30 sacks and was rewarded with a trip to the Pro Bowl and First-Team All-Pro honors. Smith’s 19.5 sacks that season are the most by a 49er in a single season.

But the laundry list of run-ins with flat-foots by Smith just became Mount Everest for the 49ers to climb, so the time for the team to permanently divorce themselves from Smith, the player, had to happen now.

Teammates have said that they had seen a rejuvenated and greatly matured Smith.

“He made huge improvements,” said safety Eric Reid, per Maiocco. “His attitude. Just the way he talked. The way he interacted with people. He was making some real strides. This is just an unfortunate situation to add to some of the other things that have happened to him. But he was making progress and he’ll come out on the good side of this.”

Wide receiver Anquan Boldin said everybody in the 49ers’ locker room was surprised to learn of the incident and the immediate response of the 49ers to release him.

“I think everybody was shocked,” Boldin said. “I wasn’t here the entire offseason, but what I gathered, he worked his butt off. And it looked that way when I got here. I think it’s a shock to everybody.

Smith, the person, has got to look in the mirror and take ownership of his mistakes and face the consequences for his actions. It’s almost a guarantee that after seeing a judge in a court of law, Smith will see the inside of a jail cell for some time which I stated before, might be for his own good.

It’s no denying that Smith is a phenomenal talent who can rush the quarterback (which you can’t have enough of in the NFL), but it doesn’t mean a thing if you can’t stay on the football field.

For Aldon Smith, the person, he’s in a fight to save his life should he choose to do so.

Aldon Smith, the football player, no longer exists at this point.