By TMZ | Created at 2026-10-07 21:13:12 | Updated at 2026-10-07 23:31:06
2 hours ago
Stephen A. Smith Explains Lane Johnson Criticism ... After Blow Back
Published October 7, 2026 1:43 PM PDT
Stephen A. Smith is attempting to explain controversial comments he made about Lane Johnson's sudden retirement this week after the ESPN star caught heat for questioning his reasons for walking away.
"I'm sorry when I was on television this morning," SAS said on his YouTube show, continuing, "people misconstrued me minimizing mental health, hell, I had mental health issues," the ESPN star explained.
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The explanation came after the ESPN star pondered if the future Hall of Famer was actually hanging up his pads over mental health issues ... or if it was because the Eagles have sucked on the field.
"A dude that has been in the league forever sits back and says I need to focus on my mental health," Smith pointed out.
"You walk away because this is a very, very, very bad situation, and it doesn't look to be getting any better."
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The comments didn't sit right with many people -- from fans to current and retired players -- who were quick to come for SAS, accusing him of minimizing mental health issues.
Johnson's former teammate and current Bills star, CJ Garner-Johnson, took a shot at Stephen A. on X.
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J.J. Watt seemed to address the situation, too ... saying, "I've seen some people speculating some things and criticizing; I would be very careful."
Chase Senior, a sports show host, provided some context on what Lane's dealing with, and it's pretty heavy.
"Lane Johnson's mom has cancer. His dad is also sick." Senior explained while calling out Smith's lack of empathy.
We'll see if Stephen A.'s explanation is enough to get people off his back, or if there's more apologizin' to do.
