When Ernie Johnson sat down with GQ, he was just a few days away from beginning his 35th year as cohost of TNT’s award-winning studio show Inside the NBA. Johnson may be best known for producing basketball’s most viral commentary alongside Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaquille O’Neill, but, in recent years, the 68-year-old has also become a major health advocate, sharing his experiences of fighting non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2003 and prostate cancer in 2019.
Before beginning his extensive preshow research, Johnson—who recently teamed up with Depend to encourage men to get screened for prostate cancer—spoke on how those two bouts of cancer changed his approach to taking care of himself. Johnson also discussed the secret to making the best studio show in sports TV history, why you need Mike Fratello in your contact list, and why you’ll never see him on a pickleball court.
In Real Life Diet, athletes, celebrities, and other high performers talk about their diet, exercise routines, and pursuit of wellness. Keep in mind that what works for them might not necessarily be healthy for you.
GQ: Where did the courage to be open about your cancer come from?
Ernie Johnson: Part of it is that when you would go in for treatment and you see the parking lot full. It’s like, you know what, there are a lot of folks out there who need encouragement, who maybe just need a push to go to the doctor. I’m not ashamed of anything. It’s not like I’m just going to hide. One in eight men is going to be diagnosed with this in their lifetime, and if you can go to your doctor, screening can be as easy as a blood test—it’s nothing. There’s always that fear factor, trepidation—and I can say this just from being through it—the unknown is what kind of drives you crazy sometimes. It’s that kind of thing that makes people say, well, I’m just not going to go. That’s the exact wrong thing to do. You just got to go, face it, and you got to stand up. If they catch it early, it’s like up to 99% treatable.
Once you sit there across from a doctor and you get the word that you have prostate cancer, you discuss what your options are. The decision me and my wife (Cheryl Ann Deluca-Johnson) made was surgery. That was over five years ago. Now, I feel great, never better, and as determined as ever to try to encourage men. Don’t just sit there and say, “Nothing will happen to me” or “I hope nothing will happen to me.” Just go check, especially with this. It’s an easy check and if you get it early, you’re in great shape.
How would you say those two experiences with cancer changed how you take care of your body?
I always want to be in as good a shape as I can be. I’m 68 years old now and I like to hit the golf ball. I’m addicted to the Peloton bike—love the sweat. You’re on TV and you don’t want to show up, and it’s like, Wow! Ernie Johnson let himself go. I’ve got five grandkids that I’m chasing around. I want to be there for them. I think my wife and I both share that. We owe it to ourselves and we owe it to our marriage to take as good of care as we can of ourselves and be smart about it.
Every Friday, I wake up and I’ll do some stretching. I have somebody that I work with at the workout place who’s helping me flexibility-wise.
The pickleball craze hasn’t gotten to you yet?
I’ve had some friends—don’t take this the wrong way, and I’m not trying to disparage anybody who plays it—they’re trying to tell me, “You really need to play pickleball.” That’s a ruptured Achilles waiting to happen for me. All I’m going to need is one little quick move, and it’s going to be over. So I’m just sticking to golf and the bike.
I know each day is different, but what does a typical breakfast, lunch, and dinner look like for you?
My wife got me kind of hooked on avocado toast—a little salmon on there—and I like that. There’s this place called Papa Jack’s. One of my golfing buddies owned it forever. It’s a Southern country cooking, breakfast place. I will dive into the two eggs over medium with some cheese grits and a side of sausage with no shame. But I don’t do it every day. I kind of treat myself that way. It’s like, I had a pretty good workout yesterday and I’m going to Papa Jack’s this morning. At work I do a lot of salads for lunch just to kind of tide me over. I’m a pretty basic guy. I’m a big seafood dude.
