Craig Carton believes ESPN pushed Stephen A. Smith into apologizing over his Lane Johnson comments. Furthermore, he says no network colleague will publicly challenge Smith.
What We Know: Smith drew backlash for First Take comments about Eagles tackle Lane Johnson and mental health. Initially, Smith stayed defiant Wednesday night, blaming others for misreading his words. Then, on Thursday, Smith issued an apology. Afterward, Carton blasted the reversal on The Craig Carton Show on OutKick. He stated that he wasn’t stunned by Smith’s initial commentary, but more stunned by the lack of reaction by current and former ESPN talent to stand against Smith’s words.
What They Said: (All quotes via Craig Carton Show):
Craig Carton calls out certain former-ESPN talent for not taking Stephen A. Smith to task over his comments: “What’s really fascinating to me is where’s Dan Le Batard in all this? If I’d said it about a minority athlete, he’d be all over my ass. Not just Dan Le Batard, where’s Jemele Hill? Where’s Ryan Clark? All of a sudden, some of these people ain’t got nothing to say. They got a lot to say when other people say things, but in this case, mum’s the word.”
Craig Carton calls out current ESPN talent for not taking a stand against Stephen A. Smith’s comments: “Where are all the other ESPN people. Where’s Mike Wilbon? Another bastion of the moral compass of the media as a Hall of Famer. Where’s Tony Kornheiser, who never met a good argument he didn’t like to have? Where’s Dan Orlovsky, who wears his you know emotional ups and downs on his sleeve quite famously. In fact, where’s anybody at ESPN to say, I like my colleague, I respect my colleague, but my colleague got this one wrong.”
Craig Carton believes ESPN talent won’t stand up to Stephen A. Smith because it could get them in trouble: “The other tough guys and tough gals who have a lot to say about a lot of things, but have shied away from this story. Let’s see if any of them have the balls to actually say something. My gut is when I come in here tomorrow, I won’t have any audio to play for you because none of them are going to say a damn thing about it. They’re all afraid if I go after Stephen A. [Smith], he’ll have my job. If I go after him, he’ll get me fired. What a shame that is.”
Craig Carton says ESPN surely forced Stephen A. Smith to apologize: “Last night, you [Stephen A. Smith] were defiant. Last night it was our fault, not your fault. Nothing you said was offensive last night. We misheard you, misconstrued your words, and we misrepresented what you said or meant. Today is now the pathetic after giving it a lot of thought and having people I respect come to me and tell me why. You didn’t know it was offensive? You had to know it was offensive. You’ve been down this road before.”
Craig Carton says Stephen A. Smith is good at saying things to get people to react: “For those of you trying to hold him up to this level of having journalistic integrity, he’s not a journalist. He’s an entertainer. He gets paid for right exactly what I’m doing right now, and that’s get people to respond.”
Craig Carton expects Stephen A. Smith to say things to get a rise from the public: “Stephen A. [Smith] frankly, played from the Stephen A. playbook. That is say something stupid or outrageous, get a lot of attention for it. Don’t really apologize for it, and then make it all about yourself. That’s what he did. But the fact that people, you know, going crazy about it, like that’s my expectation. That’s what he does. He does it better than most, by the way.”
What Remains Unclear: Carton offered no evidence that ESPN directed the apology. ESPN has also not stated that the apology by Smith was suggested. Smith denies ESPN made him apologize for his comments. It’s unknown if any ESPN talent Carton mentioned did challenge Smith, even off air.
What It Means: Ultimately, Carton frames the episode as a test of ESPN’s internal culture. In his view, Smith’s stature discourages colleagues from public disagreement. Meanwhile, Carton conceded that Smith excels at provoking reactions. Whether or not Carton in his criticism of ESPN talent is up for debate. While none of the ESPN talent he listed have (so far) publicly challenged Smith on his comments, that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen behind the scenes.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
