FanPost

Aldon Smith is a thug...

Aldon Smith is a thug.

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That was my initial impression. I follow the Broncos religiously, (thank you MHR for the continuing flow of the much needed drug that i am so dependent on...) and the nfl sporadically. I read the headlines at NFL.COM. I read the articles in this orange Valhalla, and from what i could gather about the 49er linebacker's situation, i was convinced that Aldon Smith was a thug.

A gun toting miscreant who thumbs his nose in defiance at society. Multiple felony weapons violations, stabbed at a house party he hosted by gang members, and a recent bomb threat at an airport.

How much more evidence do you need? i thought. This guy deserves to be in jail. But hes a high profile athlete for one of the most popular teams in the NFL, and the court case is being held in 49er territory.

He should get off scott free. Another travesty of justice for the entitled NFL player.

And he did.

the star linebacker must serve 11 days on a work crew -- most likely cleaning up freeways -- and pay a $2,000 fine. And if he violates any of the conditions of probation -- which include not drinking alcohol or even going to a liquor store -- Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Daniel Nishigaya said he will immediately put him in jail for an undetermined amount of time.

Faith in humanity, the system, and the legal consequences of stupidity fully trashed at this point. 11 days for three felony weapons violations? 2000.00 fine?

Are you frigging kidding me? This is justice?

Usually, when outraged, i disassociate myself from the topic. Usually, i stop reading about the situation. I pack it into a little corner of my mind and label it, never to be actively perused again. However, i continued to read the article... an unusual behavior for me.

And it changed my entire take on the situation. (here is the article in its entirety... )

Article

Applause. A standing ovation actually occurred at my desk.

The actions of the judge in this case truly impressed me. For the first time since OJ and his fiasco, i have renewed faith in the judicial system where an NFL player is concerned.

How could Smith have received such a low sentence for three felony counts of weapons?

The sentence came after Smith pleaded no-contest in May to misdemeanor drunken driving and three felony counts of possessing illegal assault rifles. The judge said he reduced the felony gun charges to misdemeanors, as is fairly common, because Smith demonstrated "poor judgment," "irresponsible behavior" and "at times recklessness" but "no devious criminal plan." Smith has no criminal record of violence, the judge added.

Ok, i can buy that. No devious criminal plan. Check. Spock would agree with this, applying my Star Trek litmus test. Never did anything stupid with them, and never acted violently. Didnt get special treatment due to his status as an NFL wunderkind. But what about that gang stabbing? You dont have a problem if you dont hang around subversive elements, right? The people you surround yourself with speak to the person you are, right? So the house party is a true indicator of his persona...

Smith purchased the guns in Arizona, where they were legal, the judge noted. Santa Clara County sheriff's deputies discovered them after a house party Smith and his roommate hosted in June 2012, during which uninvited gang members stabbed the linebacker and shot two others. Smith cooperated fully with the deputies, allowing them to search without a warrant and helped them convict the man who stabbed him. Smith also never tried to say the guns were someone else's.

Oh, uninvited gang members. Gotcha. Cooperated with authorities completely, didnt lie about the Terminator weapons stash. Ok, i had the wrong read on that. Thank you journalistic vultures of twitter, painting pictures of a situation in only 140 characters, as thats got to be enough to explain the whole situation.

I found myself applauding how all in this situation handled themselves. I thought i knew the facts of this case. I wanted Smith to go to jail for years, teach him a lesson, be a cautionary tale for other young people in the United States when they stand at the precipice of decision. But punishment does nothing for the criminal when its used to caution others. The judge knew this. The Honorable Daniel Nishigaya focused on the individual that stood before him, something i didnt do. The judge, along with all the other members of the system who worked in this case, saw to the heart of the problem and fixed it with one stroke.

They fixed the individual.

Aldon Smith is on a three year probation, and a condition to that probation is zero consumption of alcohol for the entire three years. He cannot even go to a liquor store, according to the sentence.

Brilliant.

Absolutely frigging brilliant. DUIs, DWIs, drunken house party, and very drunk when he made the bomb threat in the airport line. The common element was alcohol. Remove the alcohol, and modify the behavior.

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via i.ytimg.com


Not to mention it doesnt eat up tax payer funds sending him to overcrowded jails, and it gives a stupid kid a second chance to get his life right. Someone was using their brain, an unusual situation in this world. It was a new feeling for me seeing a course of thinking in a NFL PLAYER court case where i agreed with ALL ACTIONS taken, by not only the judge, but the prosecution as well. As a whole, they took an intelligent look at the situation, and intelligently applied our laws to it for the benefit of not only society, but to the individual as well.

For the first time in my existence, because of this article,

i am rooting for Aldon Smith.

And i have respect for at least one court room in the land.

bd

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR.