Stephen A. Smith has a well-documented history of putting his foot in his mouth. But after questioning an NFL star player’s mental health, the television personality and sports commentator is learning an important lesson about just how far his words carry. While mocking Lane Johnson’s decision to retire from the Philadelphia Eagles after 14 seasons, Smith questioned the offensive tackle’s true motives – and was ultimately side-eyed by critics who thought his comments were out of line.
“Now he calls it quits, not before the season. Not in the offseason,” Smith said on ESPN’s “First Take.” He then mimicked Johnson’s explanation: “My mental health. My mental.” The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that co-host Kimberley A. Martin challenged Smith, saying, “I feel like you’re making light of the situation,” but the damage was already done. Social media didn’t waste time coming for Smith, whose comments, they argued, were insensitive to the serious nature of mental health issues.
“@stephenasmith dude, I’m not a hater. But you know nothing about how mental health or mood disorders work. Stay in your lane and yell about other sh*t. I’m sure there are other subjects you can rage-bait about. This one shouldn’t be one of them, though,” wrote someone on X.
RELATED: Why the NABJ Gave Stephen A. Smith a Thumbs Down at This Year’s Conference
Smith initially insisted he was criticizing Philadelphia’s chaotic season, not Johnson’s mental illness. His words, however, carried particular weight because he has experienced mental health struggles himself. In a 2024 discussion about depression, Smith spoke about the emotional toll of losing his brother in a car accident in 1992 and his mother to cancer in 2017, which prompted him to seek therapy.
Johnson’s struggle is no less real because he is a professional athlete. The 36-year-old has previously discussed severe anxiety and depression, including a 2021 episode that forced him away from football for three games, according to Fox Sports.
“The monster kept building and building and building,” Johnson told Jay Glazer back in 2021. “It finally came to a point where I said, ‘I’m not gonna take it no more.’” The Eagles veteran announced his retirement this week, saying it was “critical” to focus on his mental health and family.
Whether Smith was unaware of Johnson’s previous mental health battles is unclear. Still, he apologized on Thursday (Oct. 8), acknowledging the difference between his intentions and the impact.
“I was wrong to Lane Johnson. I was wrong to the Philadelphia Eagles. I messed up,” he said. Most importantly, Smith admitted his greatest concern was that his comments might discourage someone from seeking help.
“There’s a lot of people in this country and in this world that are going through mental-health issues,” he said. “For everybody out there that’s struggling, that needs help, please, please, don’t look at me as somebody who’s trying to dissuade you from doing so. It takes courage for the Lane Johnsons of the world to speak up the way he did.”
More than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. For NFL players, the physical toll of the game can add another layer. Years of hard hits and repeated head impacts have raised questions about long-term brain health, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease. Boston University researchers found CTE in more than 90% of the former NFL players’ brains donated for research in a 2023 study.
Straight From 
Sign up for our free daily newsletter.
