San Francisco 49ers’ Aldon Smith speaks about his decision to enter rehab

San Francisco 49ers’ CEO Jed York announced following the team’s 27-7 loss to the Indianapolis Colts that linebacker Aldon Smith would be entering rehab.

Smith received his second DUI in 20 months on Friday, and the team had urged him to enter rehab before today’s game – but let him play anyway.

“First off I wanted to apologize to the team, the organization, my family, everybody I let down,” Smith said, according to a report from the San Jose Mercury News’ Cam Inman. “You know, I also want to let it be known that this is a problem. It’s something I will get fixed. I’ll do everything in my power to make sure this never happens again.

“I also want to let everybody know that, once again, I’m sorry. Like I said, this won’t happen again.”

The controversy surrounding the 49ers’ decision to allow Aldon Smith to play Sunday was also addressed and defended by York.

“Sitting somebody down and paying them to sit down when they’re going to seek treatment in the future, that didn’t seem like an appropriate punishment.

“I know it might not sound reasonable,” York said. “But for Aldon to be able to face the media, face his teammates, and take full responsibility for what he’s doing, we felt that was the best situation for Aldon himself and for the team and ultimately the community at large.”

Perhaps York has a point, but if the ultimate goal is to get Smith healthy and on the right track in life, wouldn’t they want to get him in rehab as soon as possible?  I guess in the eyes of all involved, one more day didn’t matter.

Best of luck to Aldon Smith in his journey to overcome his daemons.