Emmitt Smith Q&A: Addressing the Opioid Crisis and Meeting Michael Jordan

During an interview with Newsweek, Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Emmitt Smith discussed his personal experience with the heartbreak of overdoses.

Smith has always believed his life's work should extend beyond the football field. Since retiring as the NFL's leading rusher, Smith won the third season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars, worked as an analyst on TV, and authored Game On, which outlines the principles that helped him succeed both on and off the field.

The three-time Super Bowl champion's latest project is something he takes personally. Smith is traveling to college football tailgates to promote the "Ready to Rescue" campaign to help fight the opioid crisis.

According to the CDC, "In 2022, provisional data indicated that more than two-thirds (68%) of the reported 107,081 drug overdose deaths in the United States involved synthetic opioids other than methadone, principally illicitly manufactured fentanyls."

"With fentanyl doing what it's doing in terms of taking people's lives, opioid overdoses taking people's lives, we're just trying to educate and bring more awareness around the epidemic itself," Smith said. "I know for me, personally, I've lost a former teammate. I had a friend lose his son; my sister-in-law also suffered from it as well."

Smith is working with Emergent BioSolutions to create a dialogue about opioid risks and educate the public on how to be prepared to help save a life in an opioid overdose emergency.

"What we're trying to do is make sure that people have the opportunity to get the Narcan nasal spray in their hands," Smith said. "Have it in their home, have it in their purse, have it in their pockets and carry with them at any point in time because we all are around something that's pretty deadly and pretty potent. And when we come up on a situation, be prepared to utilize the Narcan nasal spray."

Smith suffered several injuries during his 15 seasons in the National Football League and is thankful that he used painkillers sparingly.

"It's not that I didn't use them. It's the fact that I used them in limited scope and took myself off them fairly quickly," Smith said. "I've been known as a player that had a very high level of pain tolerance, but everybody may not have the same level of pain tolerance. And so, for me, being educated early enough in my career to wean off some of the heavy medicine...I try to allow myself to heal up in the most natural way that I possibly could."

Smith also advised young athletes on safely recovering from injuries without becoming overly dependent on painkillers.

"Now tell them the same thing. 'Alright, I want you to take this medicine. Probably no more than two or three days,'" Smith said. "'After that, you need to start getting yourself off that medicine and start working your way to some level of normalcy and do not go back to it. Get rid of it, and let's start just living a normal life and allow the body to do what it needs to do.'"

Emmitt Smith Q&A

Smith also discussed several subjects, including his friendship with Colorado Buffaloes head coach Deion Sanders, being a father of five children, and meeting Michael Jordan in a wide-ranging interview. Here are some of the highlights from our conversation with Emmitt Smith.

Newsweek: If you could've done Name, Image, and Likeness, what types of deals would you have wanted?

Smith: There could've been all kinds of deals that I have been looking for with deals in Gainesville, whether it's banking relationships or automobile dealerships and so forth, which could have been representing fast food chains that deliver food on campuses and everything else. Burger King could have been on the list.

Newsweek: What are your thoughts on the transfer portal?

Smith: Well, the transfer portal is there for kids that want to move on from one situation to the next, and as long as they are not just leaving the place because they're not good enough to play there or the system and so forth, it opens up opportunities for kids to move around and to find a different home somewhere where they may even be appreciated.

When you got kids at the University of Alabama, that's probably sitting on the bench for the last couple of years, and it's like, wait a minute: Why should I sit here when I can go somewhere else and transfer and play immediately? Because I'm that talented. You saw that with the kid going to USC (Caleb Williams). Some guys are like, "OK. I made the mistake of coming across the country. Now, I want to get closer to home."

Newsweek: How much have you gotten to watch Coach Prime?

Smith: Yeah, as a matter of fact, I saw it firsthand on Friday night when they played against Stanford, and I saw my son on the field. So yes, I've been watching it from afar, been watching it up close and personal as well. I think he's doing a tremendous job in terms of the message that he's conveying to the student-athletes. It's a solid message, it's well-rounded, and it's all about the growth of the young athletes.

Newsweek: What is it like watching your son E.J. play football?

As a player, it's fun, it's exciting, and it's nerve-racking. It's more so nerve-wracking, but you want to see them do good and you want to get to see him go out there and compete. That's one thing he's starting to do right now. He's recovering from his knee injury last year. He's starting to get his legs back underneath him.

Newsweek: What was the atmosphere like at the Colorado vs Stanford game?

Smith: It was cool. Literally cool cause it was cold. But, the amazing thing was to see so many Colorado fans in the stands for a game like Stanford. I mean, Stanford was one and four at the time, and Colorado was...4-2. To see the sellout for that particular game was somewhat shocking and amazing because oftentimes, you don't get sellouts for a team like Stanford coming in. You don't get a sellout because it's a Friday night, and it's a late game sometimes. Seeing all of that was pretty cool to see.

Newsweek: Was there a moment as a teammate when you realized Prime knew football on a different level?

Smith: No, I always knew he knew football. You don't get to be of his caliber without knowing the game of football; that's not a question.

Most hall of farmers have studied the game intimately and understand the game intimately, and so, therefore, they know football. That's not a question. But seeing him transition from the game into youth sports and creating his own organization. When I say his own organization, I mean his own organization wearing the truth logos, the truth clothing, and all of the uniforms and everything is just what you see him doing right now out of Colorado. [All of that] was grooming him for this moment.

As he went from youth sports to...high school sports and then off to Jackson State, you see how things were being groomed and how he was preparing himself for this opportunity. So, I'm not shocked or surprised.

Newsweek: How was shooting the "Unretirement" commercial?

Smith: That atmosphere was so cool. I got a chance to shoot and be on set with Jerry Rice, Dan Marino, and Randy Moss. We all had a great time doing the commercial. So that was all fun, and it was all exciting.

But the part I didn't like was putting back on that uniform again. I hated putting that uniform on again. It doesn't fit the same. Don't look the same. It doesn't feel the same when you put that uniform back on after 20 some odd years.

Newsweek: How so?

Smith: It don't fit the same, don't look the same. When I looked at Dan Marino wearing the uniform, I was like, "Oh my God, his legs are so little. It's not the Dan Mario I remember."

Newsweek: How do you think you would've dealt with social media during your career?

Smith: I don't know. It was crazy enough as it was. Add social media to it would've been over the top. Everybody posts all these quality good qualities about themselves, but no one wants to post the bad qualities about themselves. So where's the balance in posting?

You see, people talk about (Michael) Irvin, for example. He posted that he had a death within the family and had to go through this. I posted the same thing earlier this year about losing my father, and so people need to see both sides of everything that's in social media: things that are good, and things that are also bad. So they know that life is not all gravy.

We all have to overcome our own challenges. Hence, that's why we're talking about opioid addiction and emergencies right now, because we want people to see both sides of the ledger... And so with Emergent and Narcan nasal spray, these are things that we're trying to help people become keenly aware of.

Newsweek: It'd seem tough to deal with, having so many people having instant access to share their opinions of you.

Smith: It's like anything else. When you walk into the Philadelphia Eagles stadium, you already know you will get booed. You got to tune that out. The only way you tune that out and the way you shut down that crowd noise is by going on the football field and performing. So when you perform and you end up winning the crowd goes home mad and goes home mad, upset. They going back home and talking about their team and don't want to talk good about your team. Even though your team just won. But at least you earn their respect. And earning people's respect is really what the game is all about.

Newsweek: Do you think Deion can win a national championship?

Smith: It's too early to tell, but I think he has to get his team together. He has to get his staff together and not only his staff, but he also has to bring more talent in there. And I think Deion has an opportunity to do that.

Newsweek: Are you going to work on the coaching staff?

Smith: I might never know. Never know. You never know.

Newsweek: Do you believe Prime is paving the way for more African-American head coaches?

Smith: What I see is a guy like Deion giving African American guys coaches an opportunity to be on his staff. And not only that but to bring their skill-set to this level.

It is a network. The question is, are you a part of the right network or part of both networks? And I notice I say the right network and both networks. Who's going to give you the opportunity to be on their staff and take you seriously enough to where your advice is important? That's part of it. And with Prime, he's looking at both sides of the ledger, offensive coordinator, defense coordinator, and other staff support levels and giving guys that might not have had a chance to be at this level as a coach, giving them the opportunity.

So now, it's upon those individuals to learn as much as they can from the D-coordinator, learn as much as they can from the OC and any other coaches they're working with so they can position themselves as better coordinators and head coaches down the road.

Newsweek: What would you say are the highlights of your career and are there any moments you wish you could have back?

Smith: I don't know if I have that thought of wish I had it over again because I think everything that I've gone through has been for my good anyway. I've learned something from it.

But highlights, I think the birth of my kids, all of them, and to see them going off, doing what they're doing right now has been a major highlight. And so that's the cool part about being a dad. That's a cool part about doing what I've been able to do; everything else is new now.

It's not about me. It's about us, how we raised our kids, and what they're doing now. So I'm sitting back as a father. That's why I say parenting is delayed gratification and because you don't know how your kids will turn out until later. So now I'm just sitting back, watching and seeing what my kids are going to do and how well they are going to do it.

Newsweek: How have you had success in your transition from playing football?

Smith: First of all, football is what I did it is not who I am. Knowing that has helped me transition. It has given me the ability to know that football was going to end at some point. I did not know when, but [I was] preparing myself for life beyond the game. Not to say that it was easy to transition, but, I have had such a successful career that it afforded me the opportunity to look beyond the game and look and seek wisdom in places that I wanted to venture into once I got done with the game.

Real estate was one of those areas. Roger Staubach was a guy that I looked to. Erving Johnson was a guy that I looked to.

Business and in general was part of the whole thought process. So Jerry Jones, whom I grew up with since he bought the team in 1989. Then you start looking at Michael Jordan running his business and brand Jordan and how he does that. So you started reaching out and seeking information from guys who have played a sport, transitioning to it and have done well beyond the sport.

Newsweek: It seems as though you are constantly seeking mentorship.

Smith: I have to because players and people I just mentioned have gone to another level I have not. And as I continue to rise up and and grow in those areas, I can always lean on them: "OK. I'm at this level now. What's next? What should I be? What should I be expecting as I get higher and higher?"

Newsweek: You're a hall of famer, won Super Bowls, and played with some of the greats in your sport. But, that had to be pretty cool talking to Michael Jordan.

Smith: Man, it was awesome. I'm gonna tell you the story, and then I'm gonna close it.

We're in the Super Bowl down in Atlanta, and it's like on a Wednesday night, getting ready to go into a Hard Rock Cafe party.

And this is our second Super Bowl against the Bills, Super Bowl 28. So, I'm walking on the red carpet going into this Wednesday night party at the Hard Rock. The press, they have the paparazzi out, they have to ask you all these questions, so I stopped. I'm having this interview with folks, and all of a sudden I hear this crowd noise coming up behind me. I turn around, and it's both MJ's. Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan.

Some high cotton right there. Now I turn around and say, "Oh snap. Damn."

They dap me up. They say, "Man good luck. We're here to watch you do your thing come Sunday, brother."

We turn around and all three of us walk into [the party] together. That was my entree into meeting both of them at one time. And from that point on, we had a conversation and started developing a relationship.

I didn't ask for an autograph. I asked questions about the sport, work ethic, business, and what they were doing. I got a chance to know them from a different perspective and then just took off from there.