‘I messed up’: ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith apologizes to Lane Johnson and the Eagles
“I was wrong to Lane Johnson. I was wrong to the Philadelphia Eagles," Smith said on "First Take" after trivializing the retiring All-Pro's mental health issues.
Third time’s the charm.
On Thursday, ESPN host and former Inquirer columnist Stephen A. Smith fully apologized to both Lane Johnson and the Eagles for making light of the All-Pro’s mental health issues following his surprise retirement from the team.
“My intent was joking about the Eagles. My bottom line is this: It doesn’t matter what my intent was; it’s how it was perceived,” Smith said to open First Take. “I messed up.”
“I was wrong. And when you’re an adult and you’re a man, you have to admit that you were wrong,” Smith added. “I was wrong to Lane Johnson. I was wrong to the Philadelphia Eagles. I messed up, because I made light of the issue of mental health when that was clearly not my intent. I shouldn’t say ‘clearly’ — it was not my intent. But it wasn’t made clear enough.”
Smith’s apology came 24 hours after mocking Johnson’s claim about leaving the team to focus on mental health, suggesting instead that Johnson bailed because of the terrible start of the Eagles, who are 2-2, lack an offensive identity, and are dealing with a long list of injuries.
“You walk away because it’s a very, very, very, very bad situation, and it doesn’t look to be getting any better,” Smith said Wednesday. “And this brother said, ‘Hey, my life matters. It’s time. I’m going to call it quits. My mental health. My mental.’ ”
Smith attempted to backtrack a bit Wednesday following light pushback from guests Chris “Mad Dog” Russo and Kimberley A. Martin. ”I feel like you’re making light of the situation,” Martin told Smith.
“I am saying to you that the Eagles’ situation is so chaotic, so haphazard, it’s not worth it to some people,” Smith said. “To be in Week 4, approaching Week 5, and you choose to walk away? That’s about the Eagles. That is what I am talking about.”
His lack of an apology for mocking the seriousness of Johnson’s issues drew a strong rebuke from the sports media world.
“If Smith, who has professional roots in Philadelphia, made a call or two, he could find out how profound Johnson’s situation is,” wrote The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand. “Instead, Smith did television.”
Former Sixers play-by-play announcer Marc Zumoff also criticized Smith for “trivializing” Johnson’s mental health, writing in a social media post directed at Smith, “No bro, no. That’s just plain wrong…."
“Not knowing what Lane Johnson has mentally endured and dealt with is malpractice,” wrote Flyers radio host Jason Myrtetus. “Lane showed great courage to shine a light on mental health struggles and for him to be mocked this way is just wrong.”
Smith attempted to backtrack a second time on his SiriusXM program, appropriately named The Stephen A. Smith Show, but again came short of a full apology. Instead, he only owned up to being sorry because “people misconstrued me minimizing mental health. I would never do that.”
Former Eagles defender Chris Long suggested fans Google “Stephen A Smith talks about mental health,” a reminder of a 2024 video the ESPN star filmed about his own struggle with depression after his brother died in a car accident and his mother passed away, something he brought up Thursday.
“The biggest regret I have for all of this is the fact that it may have given people who wanted to open the door, to seek help, a reason to pause and hesitate and not do so,” Smith said. “And I can’t emphasize enough how sorry I am about that, because it is a real issue.”
As for why it took a full day to apologize, Smith didn’t say, other than to note that ESPN didn’t force him to address the issue. He did cite a few people who helped him realize his mistake, including fellow ESPN colleague Michael Wilbon and Fox Sports NFL insider Jay Glazer, an outspoken voice on mental health issues who has a close relationship with Johnson.
“I need to do better, and I will,” Smith said. “And that’s what I wanted to say.”
