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DONKEY: To People Who Don’t Prioritize Men’s Mental Health · The Breakfast Club

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: The donkey thing that he all he all the bunch
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: of donkeys around here.
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  Speaker 2: It's time for donkey of the day they made me the.
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  Speaker 3: Donkey of the day by the.
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  Speaker 4: Things that i said some donkey today's.
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  Speaker 2: Just saw themselves It was you.
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  Speaker 5: What accountability are you taking on the breakfast club?
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  Speaker 2: That being said, I want to start off with this
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  Speaker 2: donkey right here. Yes, donkey of the day.
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  Speaker 1: Oh, donkey of the day for Thursday, October 8th goes
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  Speaker 1: to everybody out there who claims to care about men's
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  Speaker 1: mental health until a man actually starts prioritizing it. Now,
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  Speaker 1: this has been sparked because of the conversation surrounding Stephen A.
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  Speaker 1: Smith and the backlash to his comments earlier. toward Philadelphia
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  Speaker 1: Eagles offensive lineman Lane Johnson. Let's listen to Stephen A's comments.
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  Speaker 5: Nine starters, you finished the game without. And now the
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  Speaker 5: brother sat up there, one of the all-time greats of
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  Speaker 5: the offensive line.
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  Speaker 2: And what did he do, Shaq?
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  Speaker 6: What did he do, Jordan?
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  Speaker 2: He went like this. You know what? I'm going to
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  Speaker 2: call it quits. Now he calls it quits. Not fourth season.
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  Speaker 2: Not offseason.
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  Speaker 3: Oh, no, no, no, no, no.
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  Speaker 6: After being subjected to this, he said, life is a
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  Speaker 6: little bit too short. I need to focus.
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  Speaker 2: What did he say? His mental health. Am I making
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  Speaker 2: it up? No, you're right.
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  Speaker 4: Did he say that?
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  Speaker 2: I'm just being sure. So the brother.
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  Speaker 6: Now, four games in to the 2026 season, a dude
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  Speaker 6: that has been in the league forever sits back and says,
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  Speaker 6: I need to focus on my mental health and as
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  Speaker 6: an offensive tackle.
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  Speaker 2: And this brother say, hey, my life matters. It's time.
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  Speaker 2: I'm going to call it quits. My mental health. Now,
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  Speaker 2: Stephen A has since clarified his comments and apologized. Let's
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  Speaker 2: listen to those.
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  Speaker 5: I'm sorry that when I was on television earlier this
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  Speaker 5: morning on First Take, people misconstrued me minimizing mental health.
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  Speaker 2: I would never do that.
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  Speaker 5: Hell, I had mental health issues. 2017, when my mama
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  Speaker 5: passed away, God rest her soul, I spent two years
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  Speaker 5: with a level of misery I didn't know existed. I
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  Speaker 5: actually sought and endured therapy, which rescued me. And to
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  Speaker 5: be honest with you, if it wasn't for that and
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  Speaker 5: the existence of my daughters, I don't even know if
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  Speaker 5: I'd be here.
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  Speaker 2: That's how bad I was.
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  Speaker 5: I'm not only sensitive to mental health issues, I'm very
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  Speaker 5: aware of them. When I was talking about Lane Johnson
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  Speaker 5: earlier this morning, I wasn't talking about him and mental health.
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  Speaker 5: I was talking about how the Eagles and how chaotic
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  Speaker 5: this situation is can drive you to it. This is
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  Speaker 5: a top three right tackle in the NFL. And yet
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  Speaker 5: after week four of this season, this man says.
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  Speaker 2: I've had enough. I'm not joking about him.
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  Speaker 5: I'm looking at the Eagles because of how chaotic it is.
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  Speaker 2: But I will tell you this.
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  Speaker 5: Congratulations to him on an illustrious career. He is a
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  Speaker 5: surefire first ballot Hall of Famer.
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  Speaker 2: Now, this is bigger than Stephen A. Smith.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, I tell y'all all the time, I like to
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  Speaker 1: talk about issues, not individuals. If I say I'm giving
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  Speaker 1: Stephen A. Smith donkey today, y'all start telling me all
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  Speaker 1: the reasons you don't like Stephen A. Smith instead of
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  Speaker 1: focusing on the actual issue. And World Mental Health Day
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  Speaker 1: is Saturday. God has given us an amazing opportunity. to
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  Speaker 1: teach and learn with this discussion. So let's not sit
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  Speaker 1: around arguing about whether or not you like Stephen A.
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  Speaker 1: I don't want us to miss the point here. And
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  Speaker 1: the point is this. Why do we keep telling men
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  Speaker 1: to prioritize their mental health, but when they actually do,
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  Speaker 1: we question their decisions? Okay, let me tell y'all something
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  Speaker 1: about Lane Johnson. This man played 14 seasons in the NFL,
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  Speaker 1: six-time Pro Bowler, two-time Super Bowl champion, one of the
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  Speaker 1: greatest offensive linemen of his generation. But what you might
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  Speaker 1: not know is that Lane Johnson... has been battling anxiety
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  Speaker 1: and depression for years. Okay, just like I have, just
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  Speaker 1: like so many of us do. Okay, he was diagnosed
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  Speaker 1: with anxiety while he was in college at Oklahoma in 2021.
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  Speaker 1: He missed three games because he was dealing with severe
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  Speaker 1: withdrawal symptoms after stopping antidepressant medication.
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  Speaker 2: You don't need to hear from me. We have Lane
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  Speaker 2: Johnson talking about it himself. Let's listen.
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  Speaker 3: I was diagnosed with an anxiety disorder in college. The
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  Speaker 3: monster kept building and building and building. It finally came
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  Speaker 3: to a point where I said, I'm not going to
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  Speaker 3: take it no more.
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  Speaker 2: This is the first time anybody's seen you publicly speak
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  Speaker 2: since you've come back to the Eagles.
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  Speaker 3: What happened that day? The first game against Atlanta, I
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  Speaker 3: told my mom, I said, something's really, really wrong with me.
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  Speaker 3: I don't know exactly what it is. I said, I'm miserable.
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  Speaker 3: I know my mind isn't right. I know my body
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  Speaker 3: isn't right. So... I left, went back home. I didn't
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  Speaker 3: have any communication with the Eagles.
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  Speaker 1: Johnson wrote that he has secretly been battling depression and
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  Speaker 1: anxiety for a long time.
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  Speaker 3: Trying to describe that to people that have no clue
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  Speaker 3: or what it's like, it's very difficult. You lose touch
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  Speaker 3: of your sense of self. You lose touch of what's
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  Speaker 3: really going on around you. And what we really tend
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  Speaker 3: to do is lock up, not want to say anything.
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  Speaker 3: I felt bad for my team. But there were signs
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  Speaker 3: that this wasn't something that was new to the spur
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  Speaker 3: of the moment. This was going on for, you know, months.
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  Speaker 1: Lane Johnson admitted he'd been hiding his struggles with anxiety
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  Speaker 1: and depression from his friends and family because he was ashamed.
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  Speaker 1: My brothers, I know we all can relate, but when
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  Speaker 1: you see a man who makes his living standing in
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  Speaker 1: front of 300-pound defensive linemen, the epitome of what this
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  Speaker 1: society would call masculine, when this man isn't comfortable telling
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  Speaker 1: his people closest to him that he's struggling mentally, we
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  Speaker 1: know we got a serious issue. Lane Johnson wasn't afraid
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  Speaker 1: to get hit by some of the biggest, strongest men
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  Speaker 1: on the planet, but he was afraid of being judged
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  Speaker 1: for admitting he needed help. How many men out there
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  Speaker 1: listening to the sound of my voice can relate to that?
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  Speaker 1: How many of y'all are going to work right now,
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  Speaker 1: taking care of your families, paying bills, showing up for
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  Speaker 1: everybody else, but mentally and emotionally, you're not doing well.
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  Speaker 1: And because you're still getting things done, everybody assumes you're fine.
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  Speaker 1: We've confused the man's ability to function with his ability
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  Speaker 1: to cope. Oh, and let's not factor in that he
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  Speaker 1: was an NFL player. He's made over $ 186 million in
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  Speaker 1: his career financially. I know what y'all thinking. He's fine. Listen,
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  Speaker 1: just because somebody is successful doesn't mean they're happy, okay?
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  Speaker 1: It don't matter what's in his bank account, what's going
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  Speaker 1: on in his head and heart. Just because they're making
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  Speaker 1: money doesn't mean they're mentally healthy. And just because they're
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  Speaker 1: strong enough to carry everybody else's problems doesn't mean the
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  Speaker 1: weight isn't crushing them, okay? Now, here's what makes Lane
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  Speaker 1: Johnson's story so important. This is why you have to
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  Speaker 1: use opportunities like this to teach. When he stepped away
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  Speaker 1: from football in 2021, he went and got help. OK,
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  Speaker 1: and as you just heard, he returned to the NFL
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  Speaker 1: and continued playing at an elite level.
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  Speaker 2: He didn't give up on himself. He took care of himself.
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  Speaker 1: So now, years later, after 14 seasons, two Super Bowl
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  Speaker 1: championships and everything he's accomplished, he's making another decision to
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  Speaker 1: put his mental health and his family first. Drop on
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  Speaker 1: the clues bombs for Lane Johnson, man.
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  Speaker 2: What a man.
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  Speaker 1: OK, what a strong human. I respect it. And that's
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  Speaker 1: something that people should not miss. appeal the need to question.
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  Speaker 1: I know Stephen A talked about the Eagles doing so terrible,
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  Speaker 1: but I think if they were undefeated, Lane would have
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  Speaker 1: still walked away because it's not about what's happening on
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  Speaker 1: the field. Once again, it's about what's happening in his
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  Speaker 1: head and heart. Lane Johnson has nothing else to prove.
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  Speaker 1: At what point has a man done enough to earn
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  Speaker 1: the right to say he's had enough? And I'm not
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  Speaker 1: saying people can't discuss what his decision means. for the
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  Speaker 1: Philadelphia Eagles.
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  Speaker 2: That's sports.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, that's what sports commentators do. But there's a difference
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  Speaker 1: between discussing how losing Lane Johnson affects the Eagles and
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  Speaker 1: questioning whether his mental health is a legitimate reason to
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  Speaker 1: walk away, especially when this man has been telling us
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  Speaker 1: for years what he's been dealing with.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, that's what Stephen A.
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  Speaker 1: Fell short, and I'm glad he apologized, and I know
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  Speaker 1: he's going to apologize again on First Take today as well.
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  Speaker 1: But this is bigger than Stephen A. Let's not focus
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  Speaker 1: on the individual. This is bigger than football. That's not
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  Speaker 1: even the issue. The issue is that after all these
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  Speaker 1: years of conversations around mental health and people speaking out
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  Speaker 1: about their mental health.
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  Speaker 2: We still have a strange relationship.
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  Speaker 1: With men in suffering. Okay, we admire the man who
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  Speaker 1: pushes through pain. We celebrate the man who never takes
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  Speaker 1: a day off. The man who puts everybody else's needs
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  Speaker 1: before his own. The man who's exhausted but keeps going
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  Speaker 1: because people depend on him. We call that man strong.
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  Speaker 1: But when a man recognizes that something is hurting him
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  Speaker 1: and decides to make a change, suddenly we start questioning
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  Speaker 1: his toughness.
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  Speaker 2: Why is a man.
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  Speaker 1: Considered strong when he sacrifices his mental health for his career,
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  Speaker 1: but weak when he sacrifices his career for.
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  Speaker 2: His mental health?
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  Speaker 1: Please make that make sense for your Uncle Sharla.
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  Speaker 2: You know I'm a little slow. OK, my head bad.
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  Speaker 2: I failed one of those standardized tests when I was
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  Speaker 2: young and they had me in L.D.
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  Speaker 1: Classes for a while. You know, I'm not the highest
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  Speaker 1: grade of weed in the dispensary. So this don't make
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  Speaker 1: sense to me. And I know some of y'all are
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  Speaker 1: also thinking, well, everybody can't just quit their job because
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  Speaker 1: they're stressed.
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  Speaker 2: Of course not.
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  Speaker 1: We all have responsibilities. Bills don't stop coming because you're
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  Speaker 1: having a bad day. Your kids eat. You know, life
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  Speaker 1: doesn't stop because you're struggling and your kids need to eat. OK,
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  Speaker 1: and life doesn't stop because you're struggling and I don't
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  Speaker 1: want you to stop your life because you're struggling. But
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  Speaker 1: taking care of your mental health doesn't always mean quitting
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  Speaker 1: your job. Sometimes it just means going to therapy. Sometimes
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  Speaker 1: it means taking some time off. Sometimes it means having
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  Speaker 1: an uncomfortable conversation with somebody you love. Sometimes it just
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  Speaker 1: means admitting you need help. And sometimes it means walking
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  Speaker 1: away from something that's no longer good for you. The
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  Speaker 1: problem is we've taught so many men that their value
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  Speaker 1: is based on what they provide.
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  Speaker 2: OK, that they that they don't even know. A lot
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  Speaker 2: of men don't even.
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  Speaker 1: Know who they are when they're not providing something. And that,
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  Speaker 1: my brothers, is a terrible way to live. OK, because
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  Speaker 1: being dependable doesn't mean you're indestructible. And I want people
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  Speaker 1: to understand something else. A man shouldn't have to have
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  Speaker 1: a mental breakdown before we take his mental health seriously, okay?
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  Speaker 1: Why can't we respect somebody for recognizing the warning signs
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  Speaker 1: before everything falls apart?
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  Speaker 2: That's what we're supposed to want people to do.
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  Speaker 1: And I think a lot of people love the idea
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  Speaker 1: of mental health awareness more than they love the reality
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  Speaker 1: of it because awareness isn't easy, okay?
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  Speaker 2: You can post a quote.
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  Speaker 1: I see y'all all the time telling people to check
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  Speaker 1: on their strong friends, but actually supporting somebody's mental health
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  Speaker 1: might require you to accept the decision that inconveniences you
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  Speaker 1: and that's when we find out uh how much you
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  Speaker 1: and society really care now Let me land this, okay?
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  Speaker 1: This Saturday, October 10th, is World Mental Health Day, and
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  Speaker 1: I think that's important because mental health shouldn't only become
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  Speaker 1: a conversation when somebody has a breakdown, when somebody dies
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: by suicide, or when a celebrity publicly tells us they're struggling.
• 10:23
  Speaker 1: We should be paying attention to our mental health every
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: single day. And that's exactly why I'm having my Mental
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: Wealth Expo this Saturday, okay?
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: That's not a shameless plug. It's a plug, all right?
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: I have absolutely no shame in telling you about my
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: sixth annual Mental Wealth Expo.
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: It is a completely free event, open to all.
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: Ages at the Joelle and Diane Bloom Wellness and Event
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: Center in Newark, New Jersey, from 11 a.m.
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: To 4 p.m. This is my sixth year doing it.
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  Speaker 6: Why?
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  Speaker 1: Because I don't just want us talking about mental health.
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  Speaker 1: I want us doing something about it, okay? I want
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  Speaker 1: people to have access to information. resources, and conversations that
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: can help them understand themselves and the people they love. Okay,
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: salute to Lane Johnson for continuing to be open about
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  Speaker 1: his struggles. You never know how many other men might
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  Speaker 1: hear his story and finally decide to get help themselves.
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  Speaker 1: And to everybody who claims they care about men's mental health,
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  Speaker 1: I want you to ask yourself one question. Do you
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  Speaker 1: really want the men in your life to be mentally healthy?
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  Speaker 1: Or do you just want them mentally healthy enough to
• 11:22
  Speaker 1: keep doing whatever it is you need them to do?
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  Speaker 2: Because there's a difference. Okay?
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: Please give everybody who only cares about men's mental health
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: when it's convenient the biggest hee-haw.
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: I'm sorry. I could be long-winded about that topic. No,
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: it's all good, but I ain't gonna lie. I thought
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: Stephen A. Smith needed it. Okay, well, give Stephen A.
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: Smith the donkey today. Give him the biggest hand. But
• 11:49
  Speaker 2: I don't want people to focus on the individual. But
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: people are going to do that anyway. You know what
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: I mean?
• 11:54
  Speaker 4: Whether you give them donkey or whether they already eating
• 11:56
  Speaker 4: them up in the comments.
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: But he can handle it. He's going to apologize. Yeah,
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: he can handle it.
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  Speaker 4: And he is the person who also accepts, you know,
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: the consequences for actions like that as well.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: Oh, he's in one of the intros. For the donkey? Yes.
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: He's the one that says, I'm a big boy. You
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: give me donkey today, I know I can handle it.
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: You know what I mean?
• 12:13
  Speaker 1: Yeah.
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: I'm giving Stephen A donkey today plenty of times. But
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: I just don't want people to focus on the individual.
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: I got you. It's a little bit of both, though.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: It's a little bit of both, though.
• 12:20
  Speaker 7: But Stephen A, he's such a Giants fan that the
• 12:23
  Speaker 7: Eagles losing, that was his way of stabbing the Eagles.
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: You see how we talking too much about Stephen A
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: right now? You see how that happens? It's just that fact.
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: That's what I be talking about. He's talking about Giants.
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: You see what I'm saying? Listen, if there's one thing
• 12:35
  Speaker 2: I know, It's Edwards. Yeah. Okay? We can't. Stay on
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: the road. Let's stay on the road. Okay?
• 12:43
  Speaker 4: But the way he was, like, mocking it, you know, yesterday,
• 12:46
  Speaker 4: he got a little carried away.
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: I get it. You know what I mean?
• 12:49
  Speaker 7: So that's why I was like, that's what it was.
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: It was more about that. He was just focusing on him.
• 12:53
  Speaker 2: That's all. The issue, men's mental health.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: Do you really want the men in your life to
• 12:56
  Speaker 1: be mentally healthy, or do you just want them mentally
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: healthy enough to keep doing whatever it is you need
• 13:01
  Speaker 1: them to do?
• 13:03
  Speaker 7: I see Charlamagne's blood pressure rising, so let's keep it moving.
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: I know.
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: All right. All right.
• 13:06
  Speaker 7: Now, when we come back, just fix my mess. Eight
• 13:09
  Speaker 7: hundred five eight five one oh five one. If you
• 13:11
  Speaker 7: need relationship, if you have relationship problems and you're having
• 13:13
  Speaker 7: issues and you need justice help, call up right now.
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: Phone lines are wide open. It's the Breakfast Club. Good morning.
• 13:18
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