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Watch: Raiders Aldon Smith speaks outside police station after reportedly being detained overnight for public intoxication

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This story just keeps getting more and more sad. Just days from his potential reinstatement from his NFL ban for repeated violations of the substance abuse policy, Aldon Smith was detained at a San Fransisco police department reportedly for public intoxication.

He was a passenger in a car with his girlfriend driving. His girlfriend was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, while Smith was detained Wednesday night along with the other passengers for public intoxication.

Smith was released Thursday morning, at which point making a bee line home should have been his next move, but he decided it was best to stop and answer questions from media present.

He starts out by saying “I’m doing great” with slurred speach that immediately tells us he is most certainly not doing great.

Smith attended rehab last offseason, but it apparently didn’t take. His NFL career is very seriously at risk right now with this incident.

Though he wasn’t charged with anything, such an incident occurring with his looming potential reinstatement could be enough to keep him banned. Roger Goodell gets to decide if Smith is ready to return, and this could be enough to suggest he is not.

Removing the Raiders from this equation, it’s truly a heartbreaking thing watching a young man squander his immense talents like this. He has a very serious problem and the people he surrounds himself with are only enabling and even encouraging it. NFL rules prohibit contact between the Raiders coaches and front office during his ban so there’s little to nothing the team can do to help him at this point.