To millions of viewers, Ernie Johnson Jr. is familiar as the studio host of TNT’s “Inside the NBA” and as the easygoing sportscaster who likes to wear bow ties. “Unscripted” reveals a lot more about the versatile three-time Sports Emmy Award winner, including his off-camera life as the father of six, four of whom are adopted, and as a cancer survivor.
Here’s an excerpt from Unscripted:
“Back when I was anchoring the weekend sports at WSB-TV in Atlanta, it was not uncommon for me to get a phone call or have a face-to-face conversation with [my mother] that went something like this.
“ ‘Ernie, we watched your 6:00 report on Saturday night, and it was so good.’
“ ‘Thanks, Mom. That’s exactly what I expect to hear from my mom’
“ ‘But your dad and I agree that you looked like you hadn’t put on any makeup or hadn’t shaved, and you really need to pay attention to that.’
“ ‘Thanks, Mom.’
“The thing is she was right. I was so busy on those Saturday and Sunday nights, and WSB wasn’t providing a makeup artist in those days, so yeah, there were nights that I went on the air with a visible five-o’clock shadow. But from that point on, I made sure I looked my best.”
