Stephen A. Smith Opens Up About His Mental Health Battle: ‘I’ve Been Devastatingly Depressed’

After announcing a media boycott at the French Open, tennis superstar Naomi Osaka ultimately decided to withdraw from the tournament Monday, due to mental health concerns.

During Tuesday morning’s First Take on ESPN, Stephen A. Smith confirmed he believes athletes should be required to fulfill their media obligations, but he also applauded Osaka for speaking out.

“You have media obligations, they are a part of your contractual obligations,” Smith said. “Because the media is what enables the sport to be promoted, and the promotion of the sport is what generates the revenue … And as a result, that’s what ultimately assists in the athletes getting paid the money that they get paid.”

“But that doesn’t mean we shred our humanity and ignore the profound impact that mental health issues have and exist with all of us,” the ESPN host added.

Smith explained that June 1, 2021 is the four-year anniversary of his mother’s death. “I do not want to be here,” Smith said. “But I have a job, I signed up and the NBA Playoffs are going on and people expect to hear from me.”

“It’s incredibly important that we support her and we support the millions upon millions of people who go through what she’s going through right now,” Smith said of Osaka’s decision to withdraw from the French Open. “Anxiety wasn’t my issue, but of course I’ve been devastatingly depressed, and I was in therapy for three years.”

“Acknowledging what my issue was, and going to seek help, helped me to be able to come on national television and be able to articulate positions like this,” Smith explained. “Because before, I didn’t get it.”

Smith has been very critical of Kyrie Irving’s turbulent relationship with the media, blasting the Brooklyn Nets star as a snob, immature and selfish when he announced plans to skip his press responsibilities earlier in the NBA season.

But Smith said it’s different with Osaka, because she’s been honest. The tennis star didn’t just boycott the media and walk away, she opened up and publicized her mental health issues.

“She didn’t just snub her nose at the media,” Smith said. “She explained why. It makes perfect sense, it showed incredible courage and thoughtfulness on her part. And what I would encourage everybody to do is when somebody tells you something like that, you listen to them … and you support them in every way possible.”

Watch above via, ESPN