Aldon Smith 'mad and frustrated' about delay in…
Aldon Smith 'mad and frustrated' about delay in reinstatement decision
Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Raiders' Aldon Smith stands on the field before a 2015 game.
By Daniel Mano | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: December 16, 2016 at 1:52 pm | UPDATED: December 17, 2016 at 10:31 am
Aldon Smith is still waiting for an answer on his reinstatement into the NFL suspension for violating the league's substance abuse policy a third time.
The Raiders linebacker is "mad and frustrated" that NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has yet to make a decision on the matter, according to the San Francisco Chronicle's Vic Tafur.
Smith appeared in a Twitter photo Thursday alongside trainer Steven Fotion, a Colorado-based gym owner with whom Smith has reportedly been working since June and who called the league "unprofessional."
How unprofessional #nfl disappointed #fans want to know! Yes or No #FreeAldon he's #fit #strong #Ready@RAIDERS @raiderfans #RaiderNation pic.twitter.com/lW123lkzv7
— Steven FOTION (@fotion_steven) December 15, 2016
When reached by phone, Fotion told Tafur that Smith was "too angry to talk and was afraid he would start yelling."
"He is losing hope," Fotion told Tafur. "They are jerking him around, telling him they'll have an answer for him on Monday. And then nothing. It seems unprofessional."
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Smith's take on Friday's meeting with Goodell, Folton said, was that "it went well. They poked the bear, they poked the bear… but they didn't rattle me."
ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that Smith applied for reinstatement Oct. 3. The collective bargaining agreement outlines a series of steps that all parties must complete in order to help Goodell render a decision within 60 days. That period ended Dec. 2 but it's not clear when all the necessary steps were completed. His meeting last Friday with Goodell was presumably the final step.
At the NFL owners meetings Wednesday in Texas, Goodell did not offer a timetable on the decision.
"I think it was good for us to be able to meet with Aldon, to hear from him directly," Goodell said. "We're going through all of the information to make sure we have it all absolutely accurate, that we all understand exactly where he is in the process of trying to get himself in a position where he's got his life in order enough to resume an NFL career. It was good for me to hear from him personally. But when we get to that decision, we'll certainly announce it."
Fotion told Tafur that even if Smith is not reinstated this season, the former All-Pro linebacker plans to train with Fotion for a return next season.
"All Aldon and I are asking is, what does he have to do? Let us know," Fotion told Tafur. "If they're trying to break him, they're not going to break him."
Aldon Smith
Daniel Mano
Daniel Mano is a content creator for the Mercury News and East Bay Times, focusing on buzz-worthy and offbeat sports news. He is a graduate of San Jose State's journalism program with a magazine concentration.
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