49ers linebacker Aldon Smith took a trip to Los Angeles on Wednesday for a hearing wrapping up the case stemming from his ill-advised fake bomb threat at LAX earlier this year.
Smith avoided charges in that incident, but he was sentenced to 12 days in jail on gun and DUI charges that could also lead to discipline from the league. Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Smith will be in New York on Friday, August 8 to discuss that possibility with NFL Comissioner Roger Goodell.
49ers coach Jim Harbaugh will likely be asked about the report at some point, but we wouldn’t expect him to offer up a confirmation.
Schefter writes that Smith is facing a “significant suspension” as a result of multiple infractions, an opinion that’s held by many others as well. That was also the case when Ravens running back Ray Rice was facing a suspension, though, and it appears that he and his wife were able to convince Goodell to go a different direction during their meeting. Smith will likely try to do the same by focusing on the trip to rehab that kept him out of five games last season and the fact that he’s been sober since then.
If the meeting does go down on the 8th, it will come at the end of a busy stretch for Goodell. He’s scheduled to meet with Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon, former Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent and a media contingent looking for answers on the Rice suspension between now and the reported meeting with Smith.