{"id":257417,"date":"2021-11-19T10:55:56","date_gmt":"2021-11-19T16:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=257417"},"modified":"2021-11-18T21:30:34","modified_gmt":"2021-11-19T03:30:34","slug":"ernie-johnson-death-adopted-son-michael","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/ernie-johnson-death-adopted-son-michael\/","title":{"rendered":"Sports host Ernie Johnson announces death of his adopted son Michael"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On October 29, “Inside the NBA” host Ernie Johnson announced the death of his adopted son, Michael, 33, who had Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Johnson wrote on Instagram<\/a>, “[W]e\u2019re crushed. But we also know we\u2019ll see him again\u2026 and that sustains us.”<\/p>\n

Michael was adopted from Romania in 1991 by Ernie and his wife Cheryl. The couple has six children, including four who were adopted. Cheryl had gone to Romania after watching a 1990 episode of ABC’s 20\/20<\/em> which highlighted the thousands of orphans in the country who needed homes. After telling Ernie that they had to save one of these children, Cheryl traveled to Romania with no idea what would happen, but when she saw Michael, he\u00a0stole<\/a> her heart.<\/p>\n

Michael was three years old but he could not walk or talk, and he had only been outside one day of his life. Cheryl wanted to give him a chance at a new life, but the woman who worked at the orphanage told her, “Don’t take this boy, he’s no good.”<\/p>\n

Cheryl called Ernie, who told her to bring the boy home.\u00a0\u201cI remember what my wife said on the phone was that this guy\u2019s so much more than we can handle, but I can\u2019t imagine going through the rest of my life wondering what happened to that blonde-haired boy in that orphanage,\u201d Johnson remembered in a speech in 2019.<\/p>\n

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"There\u2019s value in everybody."<\/p>\n

Back in 2019, Ernie shared a powerful message about his son Michael.<\/p>\n

Michael Johnson passed away at age 33 on Friday, but his impact will never be forgotten. pic.twitter.com\/MAdSsFrhQ4<\/a><\/p>\n

— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) November 2, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n