The tragic passing of Aldon Smith last week continues to send reverberations throughout the league. There are a lot of things about the incident that still need answers, especially the circumstances surrounding the mystery. Former San Francisco 49ers safety Donte Whitner, who was also Smith’s teammate, made some shocking revelations.

“The day that Aldon died, I received text messages, phone calls, FaceTimes from some of our ex-teammates, and some of the s— that I saw was f—— disgusting,” Whitner said on his The Grit Code Podcast. “C.J. Spillman called me… and he put me on FaceTime, and he was showing me pictures of Aldon slumped over in the front seat. Aldon laying on the ground in front of the vehicle that he was traveling in… pretty much deceased.

“… So, I saw that Aldon’s family is hiring private investigators, lawyers, to investigate what actually happened that day. And I hope that they listen to this so they can understand and know who to contact. First and foremost, C.J. Spillman should have a lot of answers for you. And Anthony Davis as well. Anthony Davis was in the pictures looking over Aldon. So, I want to say that he probably didn’t have anything to do with it, but whoever was there, they had something to do with it.”

What is known so far is that Aldon Smith was found unresponsive in the passenger seat of Amir Shirazi’s car; the two were out delivering pizzas to a homeless shelter, per the San Francisco Chronicle. The unfortunate moment came at a time when Smith was alone in the car, as Shirazi had stepped back out to quickly switch on the lights in his home before continuing on their journey. Shirazi claimed that Smith died of natural causes.

Till now, there have been no reports of anyone else being present at the time of this incident.

Spillman, Davis, Smith, and Whitner all played together for the 49ers during the early 2010s.

Smith’s family has hired lawyers Harry Daniels, Bakari Sellers, and Wayne Kendall to investigate the mysterious circumstances around his death. The late defensive end’s brain was also reported to be sent to the Boston University CTE center to examine injuries or trauma that might have led to this tragedy. The team now “[intends] to get to the bottom of it.”

There have been no statements from any authorities, which has further clouded the reality. 

Adversity had become a constant in Aldon Smith’s life

Aldon Smith was once a name that assured confidence within coaches. Within his first two seasons, he racked up 33.5 sacks, the most any NFL player recorded in that span. However, legal troubles piled on Smith’s life, ruining his career in the NFL. Smith has been open about his struggles with substance abuse and alcoholism.

Financially too, things were looking bad for Smith. He worked in a roofing company and was working in a car dealership before checking himself into rehab. Shirazi told the San Francisco Chronicle that Smith was living in his friends’ homes waiting for his NFL pension, which would start when he would be 55.

Whitner said that he had tried to reach out to Smith earlier this year, just to check in on how he was.

“I want to put on here a text message that I sent to Aldon on February 1 saying, ‘Aldon, how are you? Aldon, is this still your number?’ Reaching out to Ian Williams (former 49er teammate) and asking Ian, ‘Hey Ian, do you have Aldon’s number so that I can reach out to him and see how he was doing?’”

One can hope that the investigations will not only provide all the answers to Smith’s family but also bring resolution and peace to Whitner, who has clearly been emotionally devastated by his former teammate’s passing.