Ernie Johnson gives powerful speech to Alabama football

Ernie Johnson of TNT’s Inside the NBA gave the Alabama Crimson Tide football team a powerful speech, in a video shared by the team’s Twitter account. The beloved veteran sportscaster spoke about the importance of teamwork, and their ability as individuals to make the lives of everyone around them better.

Ernie Johnson’s speech to Alabama

In a video shared with a simple caption of “Love You Too @TurnerSportsEJ. Make somebody’s life Better,” the Crimson Tide shared the moving speech from Ernie Johnson.

🤟 – Love You Too @TurnerSportsEJ

"Make somebody's life Better."#BamaFactor #RollTide pic.twitter.com/h7aN8YbLwj

— Alabama Football (@AlabamaFTBL) August 11, 2021

Johnson began his speech by sharing how Alabama head coach Nick Saban asked him to come speak to the team. In his respect for Saban, Johnson expressed that there was never any doubt he would come at Saban’s request.

“When Nick Saban asks if you would come and speak to his football team, yes and no are not the answers. ‘What time [do I show up?]’ {That’s] the answer.”

Johnson tells the team that their job as Alabama football players is a privilege. He compares their job to his own at TNT, calling his work a “get to” job and not a “got to” job. Johnson and Alabama football players “get to” do what they do. They don’t have to do it.

After expressing his joy at being able to do his job, Johnson’s message becomes that there is “value in every position” in teams. He explains that the crew of Inside the NBA is successful because they all have value and are part of the larger team.

Johnson then comes to the main story of his speech and what the word “value” means to him, with a picture of his son Michael as a child. He recounted the way that his family decided to adopt Michael, a Romanian orphan with special needs. He explained that he was apprehensive about adding a new member to their family when his wife suggested it, but that they were following the “script” of a normal life.

Johnson implored the students to not be afraid of going “unscripted”. He stated that they decided to adopt Michael because there were more Romanian orphans than could be adopted, and that “those with special needs were just forgotten.”

He explained that the nurse who handed them Michael told them “don’t take this boy, he’s no good.”

They adopted him, and he would be diagnosed with muscular dystrophy after they had adopted him. Despite his condition, Johnson explained the way Michael would join his high school basketball team because his coach saw “value in everybody”.

Johnson shared that Michael did not speak until he was eight years old, but his three favorite words in life were “love you too”. Michael’s high school coach asked him to join the team for two reasons. He wanted them to learn how to give maximum effort and how to have a heart for others. He wanted his team to have a heart for their teammates and be able to say “I would do anything for you.”

Johnson brought the story full circle by recounting Michael’s senior night basketball game, and how the student section stood for Michael’s introduction and held up the sign for “love you too” in sign language.

“Because this kid, this Romanian orphan… taught this huge school about love. Remember, ‘don’t take this boy, he’s no good.”

Johnson closed his speech by revealing the words on his t-shirt underneath his clothes with a simple message. “Be a better human.”

“When you wake up in the morning, [ask yourself] how am I going to make somebody else’s life better?”

Photo by Ray Tamarra/GC Images