Dan Patrick says he’s disappointed in Stephen A. Smith and First Take. On Thursday, he criticized their handling of Lane Johnson’s mental health as a reason for why the future hall of fame football player decided to retire.
What We Know: Patrick addressed the issue during Thursday’s edition of The Dan Patrick Show. Wednesday, Smith initially attempted to tie Johnson’s decision to Philadelphia’s struggles, but mocked Johnson’s use of mental health as part of his reasoning why he was retiring. However, colleague Kimberly Martin raised concerns that Smith was making light of the situation prompting Smith to backtrack and clarify his comments minutes later. Smith later said on his SiriusXM radio program that viewers didn’t understand his point. Thursday morning, Smith apologized for his comments, but Patrick still weighed in on the original commentary on First Take.
What They Said: (All quotes via The Dan Patrick Show):
Dan Patrick is upset about how the whole discussion regarding Lane Johnson’s mental health was handled on First Take: “I was more disappointed in the people on the set. You’re hearing this. You should call him out on this. Then Stephen A. put it on the audience. Hey, you’re the one that may have misconstrued this. No, you didn’t put it in the correct context, or maybe you did, and you’re wrong in what you did. You were very flippant about Lane Johnson’s mental health condition.”
Dan Patrick says Stephen A. Smith should never joke about mental health: “Don’t joke about that [mental health]. I would say you’re better. I don’t know if you are. You want clicks? Great. You’re going to make fun of Lane Johnson. But I want to watch the whole thing in context. But you can’t joke about mental health, not with somebody who has talked about mental health.”
Dan Patrick is disappointed by Stephen A. Smith’s actions: “I’m just disappointed. You got a platform. Use the platform not to belittle somebody who says, “Hey, mental health issues.” Then come back and blame it on your audience that you’re the ones who didn’t understand what I was trying to say.”
Dan Patrick says sports talk hosts shouldn’t question mental health: “I didn’t think I’d be talking about it. I don’t want to talk about other shows, but mental health? What are we doing? You want to talk about the Eagles’ offensive line. Talk about the Eagles’ offensive line. Talk about moving forward. And mental health and football, and you’re going to question that?”
Dan Patrick still doesn’t understand what Stephen A. Smith was trying to get at: “He’s a future Hall of Famer, and you’re going to belittle him? Then blame us because you’re the one that didn’t portray this, present this in the way that you should have? If that’s what you were trying to do. I still don’t know what you were trying to do. Talk about the Eagles’ offensive line. That’s all. Don’t talk about somebody’s mental health.”
What Remains Unclear: It’s unknown if Smith will respond to Patrick’s criticism. Also, Johnson nor the Eagles have commented on the matter.
What It Means: Ultimately, Patrick’s criticism highlights a growing debate over how sports talk handles mental health. Moreover, it carries extra weight because Patrick admitted he dislikes discussing other shows. For Smith, the episode adds scrutiny to a debate format built on provocative takes. Still, Patrick’s message to hosts was clear: stick to football, not players’ mental health.
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