Stephen A. Smith was at the center of attention in the sports world on Wednesday when his segment on ESPN’s First Take was taken by viewers as making light of Lane Johnson’s mental health. And on Thursday, he provided a lengthy apology on the very same show.
“Bottom line is this, doesn’t matter what my intent was, it was how it was received,” he said. “I messed up. … Here’s the reality of the situation: I was wrong.”
He went on to say that he didn’t make it “clear” that he wasn’t making light of Johnson’s struggles and that he knows how serious mental health issues are.
Stephen A. Smith begins First Take with a lengthy apology for his controversial comments on Lane Johnson.
“Here’s the reality of the situation. I was wrong.” pic.twitter.com/lhCWKL8Fn6
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 8, 2026
“Now he calls it quits, not before the season. Not in the offseason…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” – Stephen A. Smith on Lane Johnson retiring pic.twitter.com/itUSL5LrVt
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 7, 2026
“There’s a lot of people in this country, in this world that are going through mental health issues. And the biggest regret I have for all of this is the fact that it might 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.”
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Stephen A. Smith delivers lengthy apology on Lane Johnson segment: ‘I was wrong’