A renowned sportscaster, Ernie Johnson’s wife, Cheryl Johnson, was honored for her work in fighting domestic minor physical trafficking.
During a recent episode of The Steam Room podcast, Hall of Famer and NBA analyst Charles Barkley discussed possibly joining forces with Cuban on a presidential ticket.
Highlights
- Ernie Johnson met Cheryl Johnson during his teenage and tied the knot in 1982.
- Cheryl and Ernie have six children: Eric, Michael, Carmen, Ashley, Allison, and Maggie.
- Their adopted son passed away in 2021 after suffering from Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Ernie Johnson asked if Barkley being on the ticket alongside him would heighten Cuban’s interest in running for office.
The conversation began after Cuban mentioned that Barkley would make a strong presidential candidate because of his ability to connect with different people.
However, Johnson has been a sportscaster since 1979, when he was hired by WMAZ-TV in Macon, Georgia.
Now, he works as the studio host for TNT’s coverage of the BAm, including pregame and halftime shows and a famous postgame studio show that airs each NBA doubleheader Inside the NBA.
He has been a sportscaster on the NBA Live 98 and the NBA 2k franchise since 2014.
Ernie Johnson And His Counselor Wife, Cheryl Johnson, Shares Six Children
Ernie Johnson married his wife Cheryl Johnson on August 21, 1982, and they have been together for the last four decades.
Cheryl Johnson is a licensed professional counselor who also serves as the brand ambassador of Street Grace.
This nonprofit utilizes evidence-based demand reduction strategies to eradicate the Commercial Physical Exploitation of Children.
On August 21, 2019, Ernie uploaded a photo of marriage with Cheryl on the occasion of the 37th marriage anniversary with a caption,
Just a couple pics—then and now. 37 yrs of #blackberrymoments with Cheryl Ann. 6 kids and 4 grandkids later this remains true.
Ernie Johnson
Cheryl Johnson and Ernie Johnson share six children: Eric, Maggie, Michael, Carmen, Ashley, and Allison.
Among them, son Eric and daughter Maggie are biological children.
While their son Michael was adopted from a Romanian orphanage, their daughter Carmen was adopted from Paraguay, and Ashley & Allison were adopted domestically through foster care.
Born in Romania, Michael Johnson went to Mill Creek High School and worked at Camp Twin Lakes.
Unfortunatley, he was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy and left the world at 33 in October 2021. Ernie tweeted about the death of his son through Twitter. He wrote,
We are grieving and at the same time so grateful for having been witnesses to a miraculous 33 years with michael.
Ernie Johnson
Michael developed a rare, feverish passion for collecting car keys and key fobs. Cheryl and Ernie planned to hold onto that quirky collection forever.
Their biological son, Eric Johnson, lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Quynh Truong-Johnson, and two children.
Ernie’s biological daughter, Maggie Pruitt, studied at Brenau University and lived with her husband, Dustin Pruitt, and two daughters.
She was the Buford High School’s 2019-20 Teacher of the Year.
Their adopted daughter Carmen Atkins is originally from Asuncion, Paraguay, but lives in Knoxville, Tennessee.
She married her husband, Everett Atkins, on October 18, 2024.
However, Cheryl and Ernie have kept their adopted daughters, Ashley and Allison, far from the media.
During one of the interviews, Ernie said he adopted two half-sisters from foster care.
Ernie had over a half dozen homes before they were 9 years old. They both had special needs, too.
His wife had been the CEO of a nonprofit called Street Grace, which had been fighting child sex trafficking.
Cheryl knew that a lot of young girls who age out of the foster system are easy prey for people in the sex trade world; they prey on kids who are out there on their own. So, they adopted Ashley and Allison.
Additional Information
- Ernie Johnson has an estimated net worth of around $16 Million and an annual salary of $5 million.
- During college, Ernie got his first sportscasting job as the news and sports director for the radio station WAGQ-FM in Athens, Georgia.
- In 2003, Ernie Johnson was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma but continued his work through June 2006, when he began treatment.
