Key Takeaways
- Stephen A. Smith apologized to Lane Johnson and the Philadelphia Eagles, admitting that he "was wrong" and "made light of the issue of mental health."
- Smith said he regretted that his comments might make people hesitate to seek help and stressed that ESPN did not force his apology.
- Johnson retired after 14 NFL seasons, citing his mental health, his aging parents, and a desire to spend more time with family.
Stephen A. Smith has apologized to Lane Johnson and the Philadelphia Eagles on the same First Take soundstage where he previously poked fun at the reason behind the athlete's retirement.
On the Tuesday (October 6) episode of the the sports media giant's hugely popular show, he appeared to poke fun at Johnson's purpose for retiring. After 14 seasons in the league, the offensive tackle cited his mental health, parents' aging and wanting to spend more time with his family.
Following Smith's comments that were deemed insensitive by some First Take viewers, on Thursday (October 8), he came on-air with an apology for Johnson and his team, as well as others struggling with mental health.
"This is not ESPN. This is not somebody forcing me to make an apology," Smith said in the clip below. "Here's the reality of the situation: I was wrong. And when you're an adult and you're a man you have to admit that you were wrong."
"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. ... It was not my intent but it wasn't made clear enough," he continued.
"There's a lot of people in this country and in this world that are going through mental health issues," Smith added. "And the biggest regret that I have for all of this is the fact that it may have given people that wanted to open the door to seek help a reason to pause and hesitate and not do so. And I can't emphasize enough how sorry I am about that because it is a real issue."
In his original address, Smith questioned the timing of Johnson's retirement and alleged that it was because of the 2-2 Eagles season start. After Smith appeared to mimic Johnson’s statement, co-host Kimberly suggested that Smith was "making light of the situation."
Smith also extended an apology on The Stephen A. Smith Show.
