Stephen A. Smith sends full-throated apology to Eagles’ Lane Johnson on First Take after insensitive rant appeared first on ClutchPoints. Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
A day after going on a rant about Stephen A. Smith sends full-throated apologyPhiladelphia Eagles legend Lane Johnson‘s retirement, First Take analyst Stephen A. Smith apologized.
He took to the show on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, to acknowledge his mistake. Smith said that he was apologizing on his own accord, as “nobody can” force him to.
“Here’s the reality of the situation — I was wrong. And when you’re an adult, and you’re a man, you have to admit that you were wrong. I was wrong to Lane Johnson; I was wrong to the Philadelphia Eagles. I messed up because I made light of the issue of mental health when it was not my intent. But it wasn’t made clear enough.”
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“I was wrong, and when you’re an adult and you’re a man, you have to admit that you were wrong. I was wrong to Lane Johnson. I was wrong to the Philadelphia Eagles. I messed up because I made light of the issue of mental health… it was not my intent, but it wasn’t made clear… https://t.co/FExp9Y8aQF
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) October 8, 2026
Smith took the apology one step further. He has gone through mental health struggles in the past, and he thanked those who helped him through it. Some of them, including fellow First Take analyst Kimberly A. Martin, who called him out on-air for “making light of the situation,” told him how he came off when talking about Johnson’s retirement. This caused him to reflect and ultimately apologize for his actions.
His “biggest regret” is that “it may have given people that wanted to open the door to seek help a reason to pause and hesitate and not do so.” He believes anyone who is struggling with their mental health should seek help.
The apology comes after Smith went off on Johnson for retiring. He called him a quitter and slammed his decision to retire, citing mental health as a reason for it. Smith believed that Johnson was retiring because he saw the writing on the wall and that the Eagles were done after dropping their last two games.
When he was going on his rant, the other First Take correspondents looked uncomfortable. At one point, Smith said, “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.'”
Related: Lane Johnson finds an ally in Joe Thomas amid allegations of quitting on Eagles
Related: Eagles’ Nick Sirianni admits not propping up RB over ‘fear of losing him’
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