Ernest Thorwald Johnson Jr. (born August 7, 1956) is an American sportscaster for

Turner Sports Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasts on its parent company's various channels in the United States, including TBS, TNT, AT&T SportsNet, and TruTV. ...

. Johnson is currently the television voice and a studio host for

Major League Baseball on TBS ''MLB on TBS'' is an American presentation of regular season and postseason Major League Baseball (MLB) game telecasts that air on the American pay television network TBS. The games are produced by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. History Pre-2 ...

, hosts ''

Inside the NBA ''Inside the NBA'', branded for sponsorship purposes as ''Inside the NBA presented by Kia'', is the postgame show for '' NBA on TNT'' broadcasts. The program features host Ernie Johnson with analysts Kenny Smith, Charles Barkley, and Shaquille ...

'' for

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

, and

NBA TV NBA TV is an American sports-oriented pay television network owned by the National Basketball Association (NBA) and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its sports unit. Dedicated to basketball, the network features exhibition, regula ...

and contributes to the joint coverage of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament for Turner and

CBS Sports CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W ...

. His father was Ernie Johnson Sr., a

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher and

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

play-by-play announcer.

Early life

Johnson was born in 1956 in

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

, Wisconsin. His father, Ernie Johnson Sr. (1924–2011), was a

player who later became a television sports commentator. Johnson's family moved to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Georgia, after his father's retirement from professional baseball in 1959. Johnson attended high school at the Marist School, a private Catholic school in

Brookhaven, Georgia Brookhaven is a city in the northeastern suburbs of Atlanta that is located in western DeKalb County, Georgia, United States, directly northeast of Atlanta. On July 31, 2012, Brookhaven was approved in a referendum to become DeKalb County's 11th c ...

, and graduated in 1974. He then went to the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and majored in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

. Johnson played first base on the Bulldogs baseball team his freshman year. He graduated from Georgia in 1978 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

, '' summa cum laude''.

Career

During college, Johnson got his first sportscasting job as the news and sports director for the radio station WAGQ-FM in

Athens, Georgia Athens, officially Athens–Clarke County, is a consolidated city-county and college town in the U.S. state of Georgia. Athens lies about northeast of downtown Atlanta, and is a satellite city of the capital. The University of Georgia, the sta ...

. In 1979, Johnson was hired as a news anchor at

WMAZ-TV WMAZ-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Macon, Georgia, United States, affiliated with CBS and The CW Plus. The station is owned by Tegna Inc., and maintains studios on Gray Highway on the northeast side of Macon; its transmitter is l ...

in Macon, Georgia. He worked there as a news anchor until 1981, when he worked as a news reporter in

Spartanburg, South Carolina Spartanburg is a city in and the seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. The city of Spartanburg has a municipal population of 38,732 as of the 2020 census, making it the 11th-largest city in the state. For a time, the Off ...

, at

WSPA-TV WSPA-TV (channel 7) is a television station licensed to Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States, serving Upstate South Carolina and Western North Carolina as an affiliate of CBS. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Asheville, North C ...

. Johnson worked in

WSB-TV WSB-TV (channel 2) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is the flagship television property of locally based Cox Media Group, which has owned the station since its inception, and is sister to ...

as a general assignment news reporter in 1982. He became the station's weekend sports anchor and reporter in 1983. He held those jobs until 1989, when he left to join Turner Sports. From 1993 to 1996, Johnson called

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

games for SportSouth (now Bally Sports South) with his father, Ernie Johnson Sr.

Turner Sports

''NBA on TNT''

Known as "E.J.", Johnson works as the studio host for TNT's coverage of the NBA, including pregame and halftime shows, and the network's famous postgame studio show that airs after each NBA doubleheader, ''

''. He has hosted the show since 1990. At the end of each broadcast, Ernie presents "E.J.'s Neat-O Stat of the Night", which has become a popular part of the show but is sponsored by no one, hence the sign that says "Your logo here". This changed in May 2007 when

vitaminwater Energy Brands, also doing business as Glacéau, is a privately owned subsidiary of The Coca-Cola Company based in Whitestone, Queens, New York, that manufactures and distributes various lines of drinks marketed as enhanced water. Founded in May ...

stepped in as a sponsor for the segment, replaced by

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...

's Viera line of televisions for 2008. For the 2005–2006 season, his segments were sponsored by Intel Centrino and most recently Suzuki. In the 2008 NBA Playoffs, his segments were presented by Geico and vitaminwater. For all NBA-related shows, Johnson is joined by former NBA stars

Kenny Smith Kenneth Smith (born March 8, 1965), nicknamed "the Jet", is an American sports commentator and former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA from 1987 to 1997 as a member of the Sacrame ...

Charles Barkley Charles Wade Barkley (born February 20, 1963) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst on NBA on TNT, TNT. Nicknamed "Sir Charles", "Chuck", and "the Round Mound of Rebound", Barkley played 16 seasons ...

, Shaquille O'Neal and, on occasion,

Chris Webber Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III (born March 1, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player. Drafted number one overall by the Orlando Magic, though arguably best known and remembered as the star forward for the Sacramento Ki ...

, Grant Hill, or

Reggie Miller Reginald Wayne Miller (born August 24, 1965) is an American former professional basketball player who List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, played his entire 18-year National Basketball Association (NBA) ca ...

. In the 2012–2013 regular season he was joined by

Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway Anfernee Deon "Penny" Hardaway (born July 18, 1971) is an American college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Memphis Tigers men's basketball team in the American Athletic Conference (AAC). Hardaway pla ...

and Dennis Scott while Smith and Barkley covered

March Madness The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams from ...

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

. Johnson is also the host of '' Tuesday Fan Night'' on sister station NBA TV, alongside Webber and

Greg Anthony Gregory Carlton Anthony (born November 15, 1967) is an American former professional basketball player who is a television analyst for NBA TV and Turner Sports. He played 11 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Anthony also cont ...

. He is also the host and moderator of NBA TV's ''Open Court'', a basketball-panel show featuring Johnson and a rotation of six panelists (all of whom are made up of TNT's NBA analysts) discussing various topics, ranging from the history of the NBA to the current day scene of the league. In October 2022, Johnson signed a long-term contract extension with

Warner Bros. Discovery Sports Warner Bros. Discovery Sports (WBD Sports) is the division of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) that is responsible for sports broadcasts on its parent company's various channels in the United States, including TBS, TNT, AT&T SportsNet, and TruTV. ...

to continue as a host on '' Inside the NBA.''

Non-NBA assignments

In addition to working basketball, Johnson is also the

play-by-play In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

announcer for TNT's

PGA Tour The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also ...

coverage. At TBS, Johnson worked as the studio host for their coverage of college football. In 2002, Johnson was co-winner of the Sports Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Host, tying with

Bob Costas Robert Quinlan Costas (born March 22, 1952) is an American sportscaster who is known for his long tenure with NBC Sports, from 1980 through 2019. He has received 28 Emmy awards for his work and was the prime-time host of 12 Olympic Games from 19 ...

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

and HBO. It was the first time Johnson had been nominated for a Sports Emmy. In 2006, Johnson won the award again, this time on his own, snapping Costas's six-year stranglehold on it, including the year the two shared the honor. From 2007 to 2009, Johnson worked as the studio host alongside

Cal Ripken Jr. Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed " The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his posit ...

for TBS's coverage of

. In 2010, he moved into a play-by-play role for the network, serving as the lead broadcaster for TBS's playoff coverage, including the 2010 ALCS. He also broadcast 40

games on sister channel

Peachtree TV WPCH-TV (channel 17), branded on-air as Peachtree TV, is an independent television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It is owned by locally based Gray Television alongside CBS affiliate and company flagship WANF (channel 46), and ...

. In 2020, Johnson moved back into a studio host for the network's pregame and postgame show while continuing his play-by-play role for TBS's coverage of

. Johnson's past work at TNT included roles as studio host for

The Championships, Wimbledon The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London, since 1877 and is pla ...

, from 2000 to 2002, studio host for its

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

coverage from 1990 to 1997, and various duties at the 1994, 1998, and 2001 Goodwill Games, as well as the

1992 Winter Olympics ) , nations = 64 , athletes = 1,801 (1313 men, 488 women) , events = 57 in 6 sports (12 disciplines) , opening = 8 February 1992 , closing = 23 February 1992 , opened_by = President François Mitterrand , cauldron ...

Albertville, France Albertville (; Arpitan: ''Arbèrtvile'') is a subprefecture of the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in Southeastern France. It is best known for hosting the 1992 Winter Olympics and Paralympics. In 2018, the commune had ...

, and the

1994 Winter Olympics The 1994 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVII Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 17. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 17. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Lillehammer '94, was an international winter multi-sport event held fro ...

in Lillehammer. He was the studio host for TNT's coverage of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He also co-hosted Barkley's now-defunct talk show, ''Listen Up!'' Past work at TBS also included working as studio host for their NBA coverage. Johnson also called

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various types of competition; promo ...

for NBC's coverage of the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad and also known as Sydney 2000 ( Dharug: ''Gadigal 2000''), the Millennium Olympic Games or the Games of the New Millennium, was an international multi-sport event held from ...

in Sydney. He also serves as a studio host for the NCAA tournament for CBS and

alternating with

Greg Gumbel Greg Gumbel (born May 3, 1946) is an American television sportscaster. He is best known for his various assignments for CBS Sports (most notably, the National Football League and NCAA basketball). The older brother of news and sportscaster Brya ...

. In 2015, Johnson won his third Sports Emmy for Best Studio Host, and gave his award to the daughters of the late

Stuart Scott Stuart Orlando Scott (July 19, 1965 – January 4, 2015) was an American sportscaster and anchor on ESPN, most notably on ''SportsCenter''. Well known for his hip-hop style and use of catchphrases, Scott was also a regular for the network i ...

, who died in January 2015. Johnson is also a sportscaster on ''NBA Live 98'', ''NBA 2K15'', ''NBA 2K16'', ''NBA 2K17'', ''NBA 2K18,'' ''NBA 2K19, NBA 2K20'' and ''NBA 2K21''.

Career timeline

*1977–1989: various local news outlets ( WAGQ-FM,

) – sports/news anchor and reporter *1989–present: ''

'' – lead studio host *1990: 1990 FIFA World Cup on TNT – lead studio host *1992:

on CBS/TNT – speed skating play-by-play *1993–1996: ''

on SportsSouth'' – play-by-play *1994:

on CBS/TNT – speed skating play-by-play *2002–2020: '' Golf on TNT'' – lead play-by-play *2002–2006: ''

College Football on TBS ''College Football on TBS'' was the American presentation of the TBS cable channel's regular season college football television package. History Initial coverage TBS became the first cable station to nationally broadcast college football liv ...

'' – lead studio host *2006–2010, 2020-present: ''

MLB on TBS ''MLB on TBS'' is an American presentation of regular season and postseason Major League Baseball (MLB) game telecasts that air on the American pay television network TBS. The games are produced by Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. History Pre-2 ...

'' – studio host *2010–present: ''

'' – play-by-play (lead play-by-play 2010, 2012–2018), (regular season 2020–present) *2011–present: '' NCAA men's basketball tournament on CBS/TBS/TNT/TruTV'' – lead studio host

Personal life

Johnson and his wife, Cheryl, a licensed professional counselor, live in

Braselton, Georgia Braselton ( ) is a town in Barrow, Gwinnett, Hall, and Jackson counties in the U.S. state of Georgia, approximately northeast of Atlanta. As of the 2010 census, the town had a population of 7,511, and in 2018 the estimated population was 11,6 ...

. The Johnsons have two biological children (Eric and Maggie) and four adopted children: a son named Michael, who was adopted from Romania, had

Duchenne muscular dystrophy Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a severe type of muscular dystrophy that primarily affects boys. Muscle weakness usually begins around the age of four, and worsens quickly. Muscle loss typically occurs first in the thighs and pelvis follow ...

, and died in 2021; a daughter named Carmen, who was adopted from Paraguay; and daughters Ashley and Allison, adopted domestically through foster care. Raised

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, Johnson now identifies as an evangelical and works on a regular basis with the

Fellowship of Christian Athletes The Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) is an international non-profit Christian sports ministry founded in 1954 and based in Kansas City, Missouri. It has staff offices located throughout the United States and abroad. History FCA was foun ...

(FCA), Athletes in Action (AIA), and Samaritan's Feet. Johnson is a devoted

fan. Though he was born in Milwaukee, Johnson's family moved to the Atlanta area when he was nine, and he considers it to be his hometown. He attended high school at the private Marist School in nearby

. On the November 10, 2016, edition of ''Inside the NBA'', Johnson and co-hosts were discussing the

2016 U.S. presidential election The 2016 United States presidential election was the 58th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016. The Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana governor Mike Pence defeated the Democratic ticket ...

and the stunning upset of

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

's victory over

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

. While giving his remarks, Johnson talked about the build-up to Election Day, and how he would lean on his Christian faith and pray for the transition of power and for the division in the country. He also revealed that he wrote in his vote for Ohio governor

John Kasich John Richard Kasich Jr. ( ; born May 13, 1952) is an American politician, author, and television news host who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2001 and as the 69th governor of Ohio from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, Kasic ...

, who was one of the 17 Republican candidates and the last to suspend his campaign. In April 2017, he released his memoir, ''Unscripted: The Unpredictable Moments That Make Life Extraordinary''.

Health

In 2003, Johnson was diagnosed with

non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of hematological malignancy, blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include lymphadenopathy, enlarged lymph nodes, fever ...

, but continued his work through June 2006, when he began treatment. Due to his cancer, Johnson missed TNT's coverage of the

British Open The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

and

PGA Championship The PGA Championship (often referred to as the US PGA Championship or USPGA outside the United States) is an annual golf tournament conducted by the Professional Golfers' Association of America. It is one of the four men's major championships ...

, the last two

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

major tournaments in 2006. Johnson returned to ''Inside the NBA'' on October 31, 2006, while continuing his

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs ( chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

treatments. On October 1, 2018, Johnson announced that he would not be a part of the

2018 MLB postseason The 2018 Major League Baseball postseason was the playoff tournament of Major League Baseball for the 2018 season. The winners of the League Division Series would move on to the League Championship Series to determine the pennant winners that f ...

on TBS after being diagnosed with blood clots in both of his legs, which affects his ability to travel by air.

Awards and honors

*Six-time

Sports Emmy Award The Sports Emmy Awards, or Sports Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), the Sports E ...

winner – Outstanding Sports Personality, Studio Host. *2021

National Sports Media Association The National Sports Media Association (NSMA), formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, is an organization of sports media members in the United States, and constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports P ...

National Sportscaster of the Year (with

Scott Van Pelt Scott Van Pelt (born ) is an American sportscaster and sports talk show host. He co-anchored the 11 p.m. edition of ''SportsCenter'' on ESPN, served as the co-host of '' SVP & Russillo'' alongside Ryen Russillo on ESPN Radio, and hosts various ...

) *

Indiana Wesleyan University Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU) is a private evangelical Christian university headquartered in Marion, Indiana, and affiliated with the Wesleyan Church. It is the largest private university in Indiana. The university system includes IWU—Mari ...

Society of World Changers 2019 Inductee, where he was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Ernie Jr. 1956 births American evangelicals American television sports announcers American television talk show hosts Association football commentators Atlanta Braves announcers College basketball announcers in the United States College football announcers Georgia Bulldogs baseball players Golf writers and broadcasters Living people Major League Baseball broadcasters Marist School (Georgia) alumni National Basketball Association broadcasters National Football League announcers Olympic Games broadcasters People from Atlanta People from Milwaukee Sports Emmy Award winners Tennis commentators University of Georgia alumni Christians from Wisconsin