Stephen A Smith addresses backlash to Lane Johnson take
Credit: Stephen A. Smith on X
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The NFL world was shocked Wednesday morning by the news that Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson was retiring four games into the season. Johnson announced his decision with a statement on social media, noting that “right now, it is critical to focus on my mental health.”
For the media, this meant reacting to league-altering news and describing the legacy of a legendary player in real time. The most prominent reaction ultimately came from one of the industry’s biggest stars, Stephen A. Smith, whose joking, dismissive response to Johnson stepping back from football was roundly criticized online.
On First Take, Smith quipped that it was the Eagles’ poor start to the season and worrisome injury situation that led Johnson to hang up his cleats.
“Now, he calls it quits. Not before the season. Not in the offseason. Oh, no, no, no, no!” Smith cackled. “After being subjected to this, he said, ‘Life is a little bit too short. I need to focus’ — what did he say? His mental health? Am I making it up?”
Smith then laid it on the Eagles a bit more before adding:
“Four games into the 2026 season, a dude that has been in the league forever, sits back and says, ‘I need to focus on my mental health.'”
Later in the show, Smith clarified his remarks, responding to a comment from Kimberley Martin accusing him of making light of Johnson’s longtime struggle with mental health, which he has been public about for several years. Smith explained that his criticism was not of Johnson but the Eagles.
On his SiriusXM radio show later Wednesday, Smith offered a longer statement that largely focused on the same argument: that he was “misconstrued.”
“I’m sorry that when I was on television earlier this morning, on First Take … people misconstrued me minimizing mental health,” Smith said, per an edited video posted to his X account. “I would never do that. Hell, I had mental health issues.”
Smith shared that in 2017, following his mother’s passing, he often “saw black” and relied heavily on therapy and his family to heal.
Sorry for the misunderstanding regarding my comments on First Take this morning. https://t.co/UpqSx8CkuL
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) October 7, 2026
Smith added that he’s “not only sensitive to mental health issues,” but also “very aware” of their effects. Yet Smith couldn’t quite take himself out of showman mode, and continued with his troll job of the Eagles.
The host regurgitated stats about Johnson’s success this season during the Eagles’ struggles before dropping another “facetious” line about the team.
“Ladies and gentlemen, facetiously speaking, that kind of stress can take you down,” he said. “That kind of stress can ravage your world. That kind of stress can you make you say, ‘You know what? I don’t need this.'”
Smith closed by giving Johnson a “congratulations” and arguing that he is a “surefire” Hall of Famer.
By the time Smith posted his radio response, numerous critiques had poured in. The most notable came from The Athletic, where sports media insider Andrew Marchand took the rare step of penning an entire column responding to Smith’s misstep. The headline stated Smith “embarrassed” himself, called for Smith to apologize, and called out the fact that Smith, a former Philadelphia Inquirer reporter, could miss the long history of Johnson opening about his mental health in order to entertain during a television segment.
“Life is not a show,” Marchand wrote.
Others knocked Smith for his insensitivity as well.
Hey, Stephen A. Smith:
Lane Johnson’s mom has cancer. His dad is also sick. I read your book and you talked about how difficult your life got when your mom got sick and after she passed, you had to go to therapy because you were depressed and you took time off of work.
Your mocking Lane Johnson’s mental health struggles when you’ve been open about your own mental health struggles?
Come on, man. I know you’re busy, but do some research before going on TV @stephenasmith
#Eagles
— Chase Senior (@Chase_Senior) October 7, 2026
Amid a timeline full of that unfathomably bad clip of Stephen A. Smith, I’ll share this instead lol
— EJ Smith (@EJSmith94) October 7, 2026
The issue goes beyond Smith’s tone and dismissiveness. Aside from the fact that Johnson, 36, had already announced this would be his final season due to mental health difficulties, he also specifically noted his parents’ declining health and the desire to be around for his son’s teenage years.
As many noted, it should be easy for a former Philadelphia sportswriter to find these details — or even do some reporting himself. If Smith, who is stretched incredibly thin doing live broadcasting for five hours each day, didn’t have the time or interest to look deeper into such a serious story, it would have been very easy to sit back and let his First Take panel or the rest of the sports media world do it for him.
Even in supposedly apologizing, Smith couldn’t muster energy beyond claiming a misunderstanding and leaning further into unserious, debate-show tricks.