Charles Barkley fought back tears on Wednesday's edition of "Inside the NBA" while paying tribute to Ernie Johnson, who announced earlier in the day that he will leave the program following this season, 37 years after he joined it.
Johnson, seventy, revealed the decision in a video posted to social media, saying that a "contributing factor" in his exit is that he has dealt with heart issues over the past few years and underwent bypass surgery a little over a year ago. He then reiterated on Wednesday night's broadcast, ESPN's renamed version of the show, that he is done after this season.
The announcement set off an emotional sequence on set, with Barkley — who has been part of the program for more than two decades — struggling at first to find words before delivering a tribute to his longtime colleague. The New York Post, a conservative outlet with 4.2 million followers, carried the moment to its audience under the headline "Charles Barkley fights back tears with emotional 'Inside the NBA' tribute to Ernie Johnson."
"That was tough," Barkley said, finally collecting himself. "We knew the day was coming. Still tough. Been here for 26, 27 years and it's been an honor and a privilege to work with you all this time, and Kenny [Smith] and Shaq [Shaquille O'Neal], and the amazing people behind the scenes. Nothing like it to be able to dribble a stupid basketball and get rich and famous, and then come here and get paid to watch the best players in the world. … You get paid to do it. We'd watch anyway. And so many people at, you know, Turner, WBD, and now I guess we Skydance. But it's been an amazing journey. You've been our leader — our unquestionable leader."
The tribute was not Barkley's alone. Shaquille O'Neal and Kenny Smith joined him in holding back tears as the crew honored Johnson, according to EssentiallySports, which reported the trio sharing an emotional tribute after the retirement announcement. Yahoo Sports reported that the camera cut to an emotional Barkley who struggled at first to speak about his friend before offering the touching remarks.
The moment traveled quickly across sports and entertainment coverage. The Mirror US reported that Barkley choked up while praising his longtime co-host after the seventy-year-old's retirement announcement following two decades together. Yahoo Sports, in a separate piece, framed the scene around Barkley's Phoenix Suns background, asking why the Suns icon was crying on his own show and noting that Johnson announced his retirement from the ESPN program on October 28. Other outlets carried the moment under headlines describing Barkley tearing up alongside his co-hosts as they paid tribute to Johnson.
Barkley had previously said this would be his last season with "Inside the NBA," foreshadowing Johnson's exit. The two departures together mark the end of an era for a show that has been a fixture of NBA coverage for decades, pairing Johnson's steady hand at the desk with Barkley's unfiltered commentary.
What the coverage shows is a crew reacting in real time to the loss of the man Barkley called the show's unquestionable leader — a tribute delivered on camera, in front of the audience that has watched the group for years. The reaction spread from the broadcast itself to the New York Post, The Mirror US, EssentiallySports and Yahoo Sports, each carrying the same scene of a Hall of Famer choking back tears over a colleague's departure.
Next News Network could not independently verify the claims surrounding Johnson's departure and the circumstances described in the coverage.
Our Take
The left-leaning sports media has spent years treating "Inside the NBA" as a late-night comedy hour, but what aired Wednesday night was something the highlight reels rarely capture: grown men who have been paid handsomely to talk about basketball admitting that the man beside them mattered more than the paycheck. Barkley's tribute was raw and unrehearsed, and it was a reminder that loyalty and friendship still count for something in an industry that usually moves on without a backward glance.
What is notable is how the moment cut through the usual noise. A show built on banter and bluster paused, and the audience saw the human cost of a farewell that had been coming for years. Johnson, who has battled heart trouble and went through bypass surgery, is stepping away on his own terms after nearly four decades — a decision that deserves respect rather than the speculation that inevitably follows a departure of this magnitude.
The coverage also shows something the national press rarely acknowledges: a conservative outlet carried this story to millions of readers because it is a story about loyalty and family, not politics. That is what much of the country actually cares about, and it is why the clip traveled as far as it did. Readers should note that the details of Johnson's announcement and the reaction around it rest on the accounts of those who were there and the outlets that carried them, and the underlying claims have not been independently confirmed by this network.
