Stephen A Smith Deserves To Get The Shit Kicked Out Of Him By Lane Johnson After Making Fun of His Retirement
Holy yikes.
Junior Seau. Dave Duerson. Kenny McKinley. Marshawn Kneeland. The list goes on and on of professional football players who have taken their own life. Guys who have been elite athletes, played the game at the highest level, have won Super Bowls. None of that matters when your brain is literally working against you. It doesn't matter if you're winning a Super Bowl, or if you're 2-2.
ESPN makes so much money off of the backs of these guys putting their brains through a gauntlet every Sunday afternoon. These guys put so much wear and tear on their body and their brains, and dickheads like Stephen A. Smith become millionaire by just sitting behind a desk and talking about it. So you'd think he would show a little more appreciation for a guy like Lane Johnson who has been an ultimate warrior in the NFL for 14 years. A guy who is one of the greatest to ever play the position, and also strong enough to publicly admit that he's not always alright. I'm sure there are plenty of guys out there who take some comfort in knowing that if Lane Johnson feels the way he does sometimes, that it's more than okay for them to feel the same way.
And it's not even just his own mental health. It's Lane Johnson's mother, who was diagnosed with cancer. It's Lane Johnson's father, who is also sick. He has his own demons he has to battle sometimes, but he also has the health of both of his parents up in the air right now. These guys play football on Sundays, but that doesn't mean they don't have an entire life of their own away from the football field. Lane Johnson has too much going on in his own life right now to the point where he wouldn't be able to give the Eagles 100%, so he made the selfless and difficult decision to step away from the game he loves.
And now Stephen A. Smith is going to take an opportunity to shit on a first ballot Hall of Famer for retiring in the middle of the season. A season which I think everybody knew he really shouldn't have played in the first place, but he felt an obligation to his teammates and the fans in Philadelphia to give it one more go. The thing is that Stephen A Smith isn't nearly as much of a dumb piece of shit as he seems sometimes. He knows that certain things are bigger than sports. But apparently, this just isn't one of them for him. I'm sure if it were an issue that hits a little closer to home for Stephen A Smith, he would be much more empathetic towards the situation. But instead, this is what we get.
Obviously he had to apologize immediately. And I'm sure ESPN will go on a full PR blitz to make this go away. But if Stephen A Smith really wanted an apology to land, and one that seemed sincere? He would take an absolute shit kicking from Lane Johnson live on television.