Aldon Smith: Whatever Happened To Innocent Until Proven Guilty?

Aldon Smith may or may not have severely impacted his chances of reinstatement later this year thanks to a recent video coming to light – but until all of the facts are in, why is there a rush to judgment?

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The obvious inference – and the one everybody is automatically jumping to – is that Smith and the unknown woman filmed themselves smoking a joint and having a laugh about it.

A quick perusal of the articles online – as well as the comments sections of said articles – make it abundantly clear that any notion of “innocent until proven guilty” has gone straight out the window. Headlines on various articles make it clear that Smith has already been tried and found guilty by most bloggers – and reputable national journalists – out there.

One of the more appalling examples is from sports columnist Ben Frederickson of the St. Louis Post Dispatch. In an article titled, “Aldon Smith Has Fallen So Far, So Fast,” Fredrickson – like many others purporting to be reputable journalists – doesn’t even try to put window dressing over the fact that he’s already convicted Smith.

"“Smith has blown through every red light. He’s been to what everyone else assumed was rock bottom, then drilled deeper. He’s made those who defended him look like fools. He’s made those who tried to help him realize you can’t help a person who won’t help himself.”"

Those of us who are holding up stop signs and waving our arms to stave off the hordes of torch carrying, pitchfork wielding mobs who have already deemed Smith guilty and now can’t wait to make him walk the plank, are called naïve. Unrealistic. Contrarians.

What we actually are though – and there seem to be precious few of us running around out there – are people who still believe in the principle of “innocent until proven guilty.” We don’t see it as a quaint notion from a bygone era. We still see it as a core value, something we believe should still be held dear, and something that should never, ever, ever be sacrificed.

But in this day and age, with the Twitter judge-jury-executioner class, our voices are often drowned out by the screaming hordes. Many of them with bigger soapboxes and microphones than the rest of us.

Smith may very well be guilty of being an idiot and tanking all of the chances he’s been given to right his ship and have a productive career in the NFL. He may very well be guilty of squandering away an opportunity so many millions of kids can only dream about. He very well may be guilty of throwing away a talent and ability that ninety-nine percent of us can never, ever have.

But then again, he very well may not be guilty of anything at all.

Because of his past, because of the stupid mistakes he’s made and the dumb things he’s done, most people stand ready to believe the worst of Smith. They stand ready to convict him if he sneezes wrong. They think, because he did a, b, and c when he was younger, that he couldn’t possibly have learned anything and/or matured and grown from the experience.

And if there is even the barest whiff of impropriety, those same people stand ready to pounce. They proclaim from the tallest mountains they can find that Smith is guilty, guilty, guilty – even without the barest shred of actual evidence.

Smith’s face is never seen on camera. More importantly, he was never seen smoking anything on camera. Many are taking the fact that the voice heard off camera sounds very similar to Smith’s as actual proof of his guilt. They are also making the assumption – an assumption, mind you – that what is in the “hand rolled cigarette” is marijuana, and they are using that assumption as proof of his guilt as well.

For his part, Smith took to Twitter to deny what many people have already found him guilty of.

Those who have already convicted him of course say, “Well, what else would you expect him to say?” Fair enough. Of course a guilty person would deny their guilt. But to believe that, you’re already starting from a place where you assume he’s guilty.

And that’s the crux of the problem here.

Sep 13, 2015; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders defensive end Aldon Smith (99) regains his footing after pressuring Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton (not pictured) in the third quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Bengals defeated the Raiders 33-13. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

Despite having no actual evidence of wrongdoing – other than a checkered past filled with boneheaded mistakes – too many people are already lining up proclaiming Smith’s guilt. Whatever happened to “innocent until proven guilty?” Oh that’s right, it’s a quaint old notion that doesn’t exist in the world of Twitter.

With the NFL now investigating the video and his reinstatement hanging in the balance, many people are taking it as a foregone conclusion that Smith is going to be banished for a long time – if not, forever. Some of these same people refer to the Deflategate debacle as evidence of that position.

However, Deflategate and this video are apples and oranges. One is most assuredly not like the other. With Deflategate, you had scientists quibbling over the interpretation of data such as air pressure, atmospheric conditions and the like – all of that to say, there was wiggle room in the interpretation of the data, scientifically speaking.

And just like Tom Brady, Smith is going to have the NFLPA on his side should Goodell drop the hammer on him – and you had better believe that given the lack of actual, solid, physical evidence, that the NFLPA will shout it from the courthouse rooftops.

In regard to Smith’s situation, there is one black or white, cut and dried test to determine whether or not he actually did what Bill Clinton says he never did – inhaled. And you had better bet that as part of the NFL’s investigation into the matter that Smith is going to be handed several cups to fill and he’d best hope they find zero traces – and zero masking agents – in his specimens.

Unlike Deflategate, atmospheric conditions will not determine whether Smith smoked a joint or not – and stupidly filmed himself doing it.

Smith’s career is hanging in the balance and rests on staying in the good graces of Roger Goodell – not a position any of us want to be in, quite frankly. It defies logic that Smith would do something so dumb – and then attach his name to the video.

It’s entirely possible that Smith has learned nothing from his ordeals and as Frederickson said, “made those of us who defended him look like fools.” It’s not outside the realm of possibility of course. Smith, like many, many others – probably some of you reading this piece – have done some really stupid, really boneheaded things in our lives that seem to defy logic and rational thought.

But until we have concrete proof of Smith’s transgression in the form of a failed urine or blood test, why must we rush to judgment of him?

Next: Five Players Facing The Most Camp Scrutiny

We have a right in this country to be assumed innocent until proven guilty. It’s not a quaint notion. It’s not a relic from a bygone era. It’s something we should all cherish and take comfort in. After all, if you were in a similar spot, would you want us all proclaiming your guilt and calling for your head before you had your day in court? Probably not.

Frederickson closes his article with the line, “What next? His downward spiral suggests nothing good.”

The only downward spiral in this situation is the automatic presumption of guilt and Smith having to prove his innocence. In that regard, Frederickson is right – nothing good can come of that. For anybody.

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