What Happened to Ernie Johnson?Why he didn’t appear on ‘Inside the NBA’
Source: Getty Images
Regular Inside the NBA viewers know Ernie Johnson is an integral part of the show’s lineup. He’s been on the show for over 30 years now, so it makes sense that most fans of the show expect him to be a part of the lineup every time the show turns on.
So after Arnie’s absence from the January 19th episode of the show, many are wondering what happened to him.
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Source: Getty Images
Ernie Johnson missed ‘Inside the NBA’ due to his mother’s death.
To explain Arnie’s absence from the show, TNT confirmed that he was gone due to the death of his mother, Lois Marjorie Johnson, who died at the age of 94. Lois died on January 17 and was a mother of three.
TNT took time out of the broadcast to pay tribute to Lois, explaining that Arnie stepped away from the show to join the rest of his family in mourning the loss of his mother.
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Arnie was scheduled to appear on last night’s broadcast as part of a panel discussing the Golden State Warriors-Boston Celtics game and the Brooklyn Nets-Phoenix Suns game. Arnie clearly loves his job, but it makes sense that he would want to put his family first after such a difficult loss.
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What happened to Ernie Johnson’s son?
This isn’t the first time Arnie has mourned the death of a close family member in recent times. In 2021, Arnie lost her son Michael Johnson at just her 33 years old. Michael died from complications related to Dichenne Muscular Dystrophy. Arnie and his wife Cheryl adopted Michael in 1991 and were aware of his health condition at the time of adoption. Michael was one of her four children adopted by Ernie and Cheryl.
In an excerpt from Ernie’s autobiography, Unscripted, he talks about how he ultimately chose to adopt Michael. Arnie explained that his wife had a crisis with her children who were abandoned in Romania so she went to an orphanage where she met Michael.
“Yeah, I met this kid today. It’s the first time I’ve seen him. I told the nurse, ‘Don’t take it. Boy, no,'” Cheryl said at the time.
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“Ahn, he has so many problems. He has more than said we could handle.
Arnie said he hung her words there before finally replying, “Then I’ll take him home.” After that, Michael lived with the Johnson family for 30 years.
Fans mourn the loss of Arnie.
Fans are sending their condolences to Arnie and his family as he now deals with another loss.
“RIP Lois Marjorie Johnson. Sending love to the entire Johnson family,” one person wrote.
“I know Ernie personally and he is honestly the nicest person I know. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family,” said another. added.