Ernie Johnson scolds reporter, Kenny Smith argues with Charles Barkley in behind-the-scenes drama at TNT

Sports Entertainment

By Erich Richter

Tenuous times for TNT’s “Inside the NBA” crew has led to some frustration.

Ernie Johnson and Kenny Smith were reportedly upset with a reporter seeking an interview with Charles Barkley on the current uncertain status of their broadcasting rights and future.

“She should clear it through Turner,” Smith said to Barkley as he began an interview with New York Times reporter Tania Ganguli. “She should do it the right way.”

Ganguli was repeatedly shooed away by TNT public relations staffers and security before Barkley pulled her into an elevator to do an interview.

“Hey, man, I can talk to who I want to,” Barkley responded to Smith.

“You should do that out there,” Smith said, according to the account, suggesting the interview be done outside the elevator.

Barkley turned to the reporter, saying, “Don’t worry about him,” before beginning the interview.

After the interview, as the reporter left the elevator, a long-time Warner Bros. Discovery employee and Johnson, the host of “Inside the NBA,” stopped to “castigate” the reporter for not getting permission from Turner to do the interview.

The usually mild-mannered Johnson’s scolding of the reporter shows just how fragile the current situation is for the cast, as well as every employee of TNT Sports.

“It’s people’s lives,” Barkley said, referencing why it’s important for him to talk about the issue. “Not my life. Not Ernie’s life. Not Kenny’s life. Not Shaq’s life. But all the people who work here. We probably have 100 people who do work on the show. So they’re, like, real people. I’ve seen their kids born, graduate high school, graduate college.”

Barkley has been outspoken about his anger with how TNT has handled negotiations, publicly calling out his bosses, including Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav.

Zaslav publicly stated that TNT did not need the NBA to survive, which Barkley said he believes could have soured the league on talks with their long-time rights-holder.

“Like I said, we’re just sitting back, waiting on these people to figure out what they’re going to do,” Barkley said last week on the “Dan Patrick Show.”

“My two favorite wines are Inglenook and Opus, and these clowns I work for they turned us into Ripple and Boone’s Farm and Thunderbird. Like, we got the best studio show, and it’s so funny, we just won the [Sports Emmy for] best studio show, but these fools turned us from Inglenook and Opus into damn Boone’s Farm and Ripple. It’s crazy.”

Parent company Warner Bros. Discovery is attempting to figure out if they can retain broadcasting rights in the NBA while cutting costs, having seen their exclusive negotiation period come and go with no deal.

NBC and Amazon have joined the fold, potentially putting TNT on the outs.

Since TNT does not broadcast the NBA Finals, the Western Conference Final looks to be the last chance for us to hear from the “Inside the NBA” cast until their next, and potentially last, season begins in October.

The Timberwolves face the Mavericks in Game 5 on Thursday in what could be an elimination game for Minnesota and TNT alike.