Finally, some good news out of Washington and its football team. Veteran quarterback Alex Smith has been cleared for football activity. This comes after he missed the entire 2019 season while recuperating from a gruesome leg injury — a fracture of his right fibula and tibia in 2018.
I had a conversation with Alex Smith today and, well, I hope you’ll read this:
Washington QB Alex Smith cleared for full football activity after broken leg https://t.co/Lpn9zH27Cg
— Stephania Bell (@Stephania_ESPN) July 24, 2020
“Everyone was in agreement that my bone was in a really good place,” Smith, 36, told ESPN. “I had healed a lot. They said that given the combination of the rod and where I was with the healing process, I had zero limitations and could even resume some football activities.
“To hear them say that from a life standpoint, they wouldn’t restrict me from doing anything — I could go skiing or snowboarding tomorrow if I wanted — then on top of that, to get the green light that I could practice, get contact, that I had healed up, that much was pretty wild to hear. I didn’t know if I would ever hear those words.”
One of the people involved in the play on which Smith was injured, Houston Texans star J.J. Watt, was quick to respond to the good news.
Just saw that Alex Smith has been cleared for full football activity, what an incredible return.
Couldn’t be happier to hear it, truly rooting for his success.
— JJ Watt (@JJWatt) July 24, 2020
The news is a pleasant respite from recent weeks that has seen Washington pressured into finally changing its nickname away from the racist one it was associated with, and the scandal the Washington Post reported about the way women have been sexually harassed in the organization.
Smith, who was once a No. 1 overall pick out of Utah by the San Francisco 49ers, addressed the recent turmoil, saying he was “embarrassed” and “disgusted” by the Post report about 15 women who accused team executives of sexual harassment.
“We’re football players and out on the field, but there are a lot of parts of the building that go into game day and a season and the whole business side of the building, and to hear that some of this had been going on, I certainly don’t think players ever knew about it. But it’s not something any of us are proud of, and it needs to be changed,” Smith said. “I have a wife, a daughter, two sisters, and to ever think about something like that happening to them disgusts me and pisses me off; so hopefully, we get to where we need to be — an environment and a culture that’s acceptable for everybody and lets everybody thrive and is safe for everybody.”