Reuben Foster domestic violence charges a test case for 49ers leadership

That’s what one weekend can do in the NFL landscape. Optimism can give way to bitter cynicism in just 48 hours.

The glow from the Jimmy Garoppolo nuptials faded with the news that Reuben Foster, the 49ers 23-year old linebacker, considered a cornerstone for the future, was arrested in Los Gatos on Sunday morning on charges of domestic violence, threats and possession of an assault weapon.

That all sounds too familiar, right? Talented linebacker. A disturbing pattern of problems and bad judgment. Now an arrest for the worst kind of crime.

These are the type of problems that plagued the 49ers during the Trent Baalke years when the team led the league in arrests. When they made excuses far too often and gave second chances over and over.

Will the 49ers cut Foster? Will they hem and haw? How different is the new leadership? What did the 49ers learn from their chronic mismanagement of cases like Aldon Smith and Ray McDonald?

Last spring, the 49ers were faced with a similar situation when starting cornerback Tramaine Brock was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. The 49ers did their own investigation and released him the next day.

“There was enough there that we felt it was the decision we had to make and move on from,” general manager John Lynch said then.

The charges were eventually dropped and Brock ended up with the Minnesota Vikings.

Foster is a far different situation. This regime drafted him, despite issues that he had failed a drug test at the NFL Combine and was also kicked out of the combine after an altercation with a hospital employee. Those issues, along with medical concerns, caused him to drop in the draft, so the 49ers were able to select him in the late first round. At the time they were thrilled. They believed they had found a linebacker they could build their defense around.

At times last season, Foster looked like the best player on the field. But he was plagued all season by injury problems and the overriding question was whether he would be able to stay healthy.

Now the question is whether he can stay out of trouble? Whether he’s one of those chronic bad guys like Smith or Greg Hardy?

Last month, Foster was arrested for marijuana possession in Alabama. That’s the kind of crime the Bay Area - where marijuana is legal - would shrug at and be happy to carry on.

Domestic violence is an entirely different issue. The call to the police reportedly came from Foster’s long-time girlfriend.

The charges include threats. According to the California penal code a criminal threat occurs when someone threatens to commit a crime that will result in death or great bodily injury to another person. The charges also include possession of an assault weapon: there are several characteristics of an assault weapon that would make such a gun illegal in California.

We are at a different point in time. For one thing, the 49ers fan base us weary and suspicious of these kind of charges, having learned from history that where there is the smoke of an arrest, there is almost always a fire that can’t be contained.

In addition, this is a different time in history. The #MeToo moment that has roiled our country illustrates the danger of failing to believe victims, of trying to ignore or bury issues like these. Of the moral failure of putting talent - athletic, artistic, political or corporate - ahead of decent behavior. It is not acceptable.

Whatever the 49ers choose to do, Foster will likely face a suspension by the league, which has historically been far too slow to deal with the issue. Under the NFL’s current domestic violence policy, players are given a six-game suspension for a first incident and a lifetime ban for a second. Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott served a suspension last year due to accusations, even though he was never charged with domestic violence.

The 49ers have their own network of law enforcement contacts in the community and can probably quickly investigate the Foster situation on their own.

What they choose to do with the information will be a litmus test of this team’s character, its direction.

And its ability to learn from the lessons of the past and show a different, better kind of leadership.

Ann Killion is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @annkillion