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San Francisco 49ers CEO Jed York said linebacker Aldon Smith will not play Thursday night and will not be with the team for an indefinite period due to personal reasons.
Following the team's 27-7 loss to Indianapolis, Smith apologized for his actions and vowed to "fix" his problem.
"I apologize to the team and the organization," said Smith, who had five tackles in the loss. "This is something that I will get fixed. I will do everything in my power to make sure this never happens again."
York said the team will stand by Smith.
"I am willing to support Aldon as long as he is willing to work at this and fight to get better," York said.
Smith, who turns 24 on Wednesday, was briefly jailed Friday morning after being involved in a single-vehicle crash around 7 a.m. in San Jose, Calif. He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
"I believe Aldon wants to tackle this problem, and we're going to do everything we can do to help him with this," York said.
League officials confirmed that under the collective bargaining agreement and the league's substance-abuse policy, the 49ers could not suspend Smith. Even though commissioner Roger Goodell has emphatically stressed that DUI violations are high-level concerns, he also cannot suspend Smith under the personal conduct policy because the most recent case still must be adjudicated.
Therefore, Smith's well-being is taking priority before any punitive measures are enforced.
Smith won the team's MVP award last season as he set the Niners' franchise record with 19½ sacks. A first-round draft pick out of Missouri in 2011, Smith also set the team's rookie sack record with 14 that year.
But Smith has had problems with the law.
He was also arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Miami Beach in January 2012, and he's been named in a lawsuit by a Northern California man who said he was shot during a party at Smith's house.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/97...s-indefinitely
Following the team's 27-7 loss to Indianapolis, Smith apologized for his actions and vowed to "fix" his problem.
"I apologize to the team and the organization," said Smith, who had five tackles in the loss. "This is something that I will get fixed. I will do everything in my power to make sure this never happens again."
York said the team will stand by Smith.
"I am willing to support Aldon as long as he is willing to work at this and fight to get better," York said.
Smith, who turns 24 on Wednesday, was briefly jailed Friday morning after being involved in a single-vehicle crash around 7 a.m. in San Jose, Calif. He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
"I believe Aldon wants to tackle this problem, and we're going to do everything we can do to help him with this," York said.
League officials confirmed that under the collective bargaining agreement and the league's substance-abuse policy, the 49ers could not suspend Smith. Even though commissioner Roger Goodell has emphatically stressed that DUI violations are high-level concerns, he also cannot suspend Smith under the personal conduct policy because the most recent case still must be adjudicated.
Therefore, Smith's well-being is taking priority before any punitive measures are enforced.
Smith won the team's MVP award last season as he set the Niners' franchise record with 19½ sacks. A first-round draft pick out of Missouri in 2011, Smith also set the team's rookie sack record with 14 that year.
But Smith has had problems with the law.
He was also arrested on suspicion of drunken driving in Miami Beach in January 2012, and he's been named in a lawsuit by a Northern California man who said he was shot during a party at Smith's house.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/97...s-indefinitely
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