Stephen A. Smith opened Thursday’s First Take with an on-air apology to former Philadelphia Eagle Lane Johnson. The ESPN commentator said he made light of mental health while discussing Johnson’s retirement a day earlier.
What We Know: Johnson announced his retirement after 14 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles. In his statement, the two-time Super Bowl champion said he needed to focus on his mental health. Smith then discussed the news on Wednesday’s First Take, and his comments prompted a wave of feedback. By Thursday, he opened the show by addressing the fallout directly.
What They Said: (All quotes via First Take):
Stephen A. Smith apologizes for his comments about mental health in relation to Lane Johnson’s retirement: “I messed up. By the way, for those of you out there looking right now, this is not ESPN. This is not somebody forcing me to make an apology. Nobody did that. Nobody can do that. Here’s the reality of the situation: I was wrong. 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. Plus, 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.”
Stephen A. Smith acknowledges mental health is a real issue: “As much as I owe the apology to Lane Johnson and to the Philadelphia Eagles, it does not stop there. Mental health obviously is an incredibly serious issue. I know it, and went through it myself. I know a lot of people who have gone through it.”
Stephen A. Smith hopes his words would prevent anyone from seeking help: “There’s a lot of people in this country and in this world that are going through mental health issues. 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. I can’t emphasize enough how sorry I am about that, because it is a real issue.”
Stephen A. Smith admits it takes courage to acknowledge a person needs help: “It takes courage for the Lane Johnsons of the world to speak up the way that he did to Jake Glazer in 2021. When he first revealed all that was going on with them. It takes courage for people out there struggling who have mental health issues to come forward. To acknowledge that they are really struggling and that they need help. For me, although it was not my intent to come across as making light of that reality is my biggest regret.”
Stephen A. Smith says he’s not perfect: “I do over 950 hours of live content a year. I’ve made mistakes before. I apologized. I’m making mistakes now. I’m going to apologize. If I do it in the future, I’ll apologize again. The bigger issue is to make sure to bring attention to the fact that mental health is a real, real thing. Over the last 24 hours, with the inordinate amount of people that have spoken to me, that reminded me of my struggles and the courage it takes to come forward and to acknowledge I really need help. It’s made me better.”
What Remains Unclear: It also remains unclear whether Johnson or the Eagles will respond publicly. Although he made his apology on First Take, it remains to be seen if he will share the same apology with his SiriusXM Mad Dog Sports Radio audience.
What It Means: Ultimately, the moment showed how quickly hot takes can collide with sensitive subjects. Smith noted that he does more than 950 hours of live content a year. Still, he framed the episode as a chance to spotlight mental health, citing his own struggles. For a show built on strong opinions, that message carried unusual weight. Yet, it was good to see Smith look internally after a day pointing the finger at others for misunderstanding what he was trying to say.
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