Stephen A. Smith has never shied away from saying what he thinks in the media, but he has taken offence to what one NFL player had to say after his game at the weekend.
Week Four of the 2026 NFL season is now in the books and there were a number of upsets across the league, with the unbeaten Buffalo Bills losing against the stuttering New England Patriots. That game saw significant backlash for Bills safety C. J. Gardner-Johnson.
Patriots wide receiver Efton Chism III secured the game-winning touchdown with a stunning one-handed catch. However, the Bills’ safety was not willing to pay Chism too much respect after the game, with some fairly ignorant comments.
“An elevated guy made a [great] of a catch – probably won’t hear from him again. … A practice squad player made a hell of a play. That’s all I’m going to tell you. You do it again, and he probably won’t make it again,” he said after the game.
This has seen a lot of criticism aimed towards Gardner-Johnson, with Smith the latest to have his say on the safety’s comments.
Stephen A. Smith tears into disrespectful C. J. Gardner-Johnson
During the game on Sunday, Chism racked up 43 yards for the Patriots over the two receptions made. However, Gardner-Johnson could not help himself but aim a clear dig towards the lesser-known wideout.
“It was a classless response on his part. He lost, and you came across as a sore loser. To go at Chism like that, that’s kind of jacked up,” Smith said on First Take.
“First of all, he’s never been on the practice squad. He’s undrafted, but he’s made the 53-man roster. He’s never been on the practice squad. Show some respect to one of your contemporaries. Show some respect to the competition because you lost on a Sunday afternoon when you should have won the game.”
The Bills remain in a solid position this season despite the loss, but there is a clear gulf in class between someone like the safety and quarterback Josh Allen, who showed considerably more grace in his post-game interviews.
Gardner-Johnson created a lot of unnecessary noise surrounding his team following the loss, with a huge game coming up on Monday Night Football against the Los Angeles Rams.
Smith also wanted to make it clear that Gardner-Johnson should not be spoken about as if he is a nobody because of his comments about Chism.
“What I’m not going to do, however, while pointing out it was a classless response (and it is a response that C.J. Gardner-Johnson should not have made), is have people talking about him like this dude is some scrub,” he added.
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