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Wednesday, December 21, 2016

A Father to the Fatherless: The Moving Story of NBA Broadcaster Ernie Johnson’s Family


By Susan Michelle-Hanson
Live Action News

“There’s nothing better a dad can do than bless his son. Nothing."  Ernie Johnson, Jr.
Most know Ernie Johnson, Jr. son of Major League Baseball player and Braves announcer, Ernie Johnson, Sr. as one of the top sports host on Inside the NBA. Sharing the stage with men like Charles Barkley and Shaquille O’Neal, Johnson seems at home. But what goes on in his real home is what makes him a star.

ESPN’s E:60 – Ernie Johnson: My story tells of the Johnson family that the public never sees. From his battle with cancer to his poignant family history, the real Ernie Johnson is a hero to many–especially his wife and children.

Ernie and his wife Cheryl have have six children, four of whom are adopted. Two were adopted internationally, Michael from Romania, and Carmen from Paraguay. It is Michael who becomes the real focus of this powerful biography of Ernie and his family.

Ernie tells of feeling like he had everything: two beautiful children, a wife he loved, and a great TV gig. And then in 1990, the ABC show 20/20 rocked the Johnson’s world when the story of the 14,000 babies in Romania who were left as orphans and wards of the state, needed homes. 
As they watched the show, Cheryl said to Ernie, “We need to get one of these kids out of an orphanage in Romania.”
Cheryl went to Romania, thinking they would adopt a baby girl with no disabilities, when Michael stole her heart. He was almost three, unable to speak–and had never been outside. Cheryl says in the show:
“He was everything we said we could not accept, but I wonder how I’m going to live my life and wonder what happens to him.”
She called Ernie who said, “bring him home.”


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