As if Aldon Smith didn’t have enough problems, he was arrested last Thursday night for DUI, vandalism, and hit-and-run. After the 49ers released the star defensive end, Coach Jim Tomsula was recorded saying, “Although Aldon won’t be playing football here, we will be supporting him. He will not be alone.”
To an untrained eye, it is hard to see why someone in such a blessed situation has so much trouble staying out of the tabloids. Seriously… How could someone who is a talented professional football player, not be able to avoid drinking to save his career? I think the answer goes far deeper to this question than the public is willing to stomach. The reason Smith has been arrested so often, and suspended from the team, is because he is struggling with a crippling addiction to alcohol.
Maybe if enough of these stories become public, people will start to realize the epidemic that we have on our hands. Aldon Smith isn’t the only alcoholic in the world folks. There are millions of people struggling with this disease. Honestly, the more the public knows about alcoholism and addiction, the more people will want to do something about it.
