Alex Smith’s comeback from a gruesome leg injury in 2018 will always stand as one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. Smith, who retired earlier this week, reflected on his retirement, the injury and his 2020 season with the Washington Football Team in a story by Greg Bishop of Sports Illustrated.
For the second time this year, Smith criticized Washington — specifically the coaching staff — for how they handled him. Earlier, he said the coaching staff “didn’t want me there” in 2020.
After the previous story by GQ was published, Smith, through a source, had a different view of his comments and stressed there was no animosity from him towards the Washington Football Team.
Apparently, Smith still isn’t too happy with Washington.
In the interview with Bishop, which is excellent, Smith said he felt “patronized” by the coaching staff, and his father believed the team “sabotaged” his return.
Smith brought up different examples of why he felt this way. He mentioned how in training camp, coaches had him carry extra weight, push sleds and hurdle bags for drills, things he had never before done in his career.
Smith made it clear he felt Washington didn’t want him. He preferred the team to tell him he wasn’t good enough rather than continuing to test him.
“I’d rather have somebody right in my face say, ‘What are you thinking?'” Smith says. “It pissed me off.”
Washington’s team doctor, Dr. Robin West, backed Smith and told the team on multiple occasions Smith was clear and they would respond with “why would he want to?” She answered that it wasn’t their decision to make.
West resigned from her position as the team physician.
Through a team spokesperson, Washington coach Ron Rivera responded to Sports Illustrated after hearing Smith’s comments.
I was scared to death about putting [Alex] back out there and that is something I struggled with every day. It’s unfortunate that he feels we patronized him because I can tell you that was not our intention. At the end of the day, I commend Alex because he proved everyone wrong and exceeded any reasonable expectations that anyone had set for him. He not only made it back onto the field but led us to the playoffs. It was a truly remarkable feat.
This is an unfortunate ending to Smith’s time in Washington. He deserves a special place in franchise history for not only what he went through but how he fought to return. The 2020 season was a special one, and Smith was a major reason why.
Washington’s side is understandable, too. Smith’s injury and return were unprecedented. There was certainly no handbook on how to handle a difficult situation such as Smith’s miraculous return.
There are no bad guys in this situation. That’s right, Washington did nothing wrong, and Smith has every reason to feel the way he did. Sometimes, that’s just the way it is.