Stephen A. Smith, Max Kellerman, and Molly Qerim discussed tennis star Naomi Osaka's decision to withdraw from the French Open for mental health reasons. The discussion became emotional as the hosts revealed their own personal struggles with mental illness.
Stephen A. detailed his battle with depression following his mother's passing. He revealed that he attended therapy for three years after family members noticed him becoming more volatile.
"Every single day, I am miserable at some point," Stephen A. shared. "But because of the loved ones and the support, I can move ahead. Naomi Osaka and everybody in this world like her that's suffering from mental health issues, they all move forward and survive because there's people that hug them figuratively and literally and say 'we're here, we get it.'"
After Stephen A. shared his story, Molly Qerim started to cry as she explained the rough year she and her husband Jalen Rose have experienced. Qerim revealed that their family has suffered five deaths during the past year as she drew comparisons between her situation and Stephen A's.
"Let me just say this quickly, if you're wondering why I was getting so emotional during that conversation, it's not just because of what you went through, Stephen A., and Max I know you went through a very challenging time," Qerim stated. "We've lost...it's not a secret, my husband works here, we've lost five people in my family this year and I know what kind of pain he's in and I know it's very similar to what you're doing and to feel like you can't support the person and to feel shut out and wanting to do everything and seeing them hurting, so that's why I'm here."
She continued by apologizing to her family for revealing the news on national television. The co-hosts then spoke on Jalen Rose continuing to come to work despite his grief and the importance of having a strong support system.
Check out the above clip to hear more.
