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'Inside the NBA' Sends Public Apology for Shaquille O'Neal's 'Inexcusable' Mistake

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Apr 21, 2025 9:16 PM ET

Shaquille O'Neal and the rest of the "Inside the NBA" crew found themselves in some hot water over a set of comments that were made in the aftermath of Sunday's Game 1 matchup between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat.

O'Neal and Co. were heaping praise on Cavs guard Ty Jerome's 28-point explosion off the bench to help lead Cleveland to a 121-100 victory to draw first blood in their opening-round series against Miami.

Jerome made history with his incredible performance by joining an elite list of players who have scored the most points in a postseason debut as a reserve. One of the players on the said list was former Portland Trail Blazers guard Billy Ray Bates, and this was where the controversy stemmed.

O'Neal mistakenly declared that Bates had "passed away," when the fact of the matter is that the 68-year-old is still very much alive and well.

On Monday, Ernie Johnson addressed the issue at hand, and the veteran sportscaster issued a public apology on behalf of O'Neal and the rest of the team.

"We would like to issue a correction and an apology for something that happened last night on 'Inside the NBA,'" Johnson said. ... In the course of our discussion, we passed on some bad information that Billy Ray Bates had passed away.

"While it was inadvertent, it was also inaccurate and insensitive and inexcusable. We apologize to Billy Ray Bates and his family."

"We would like to issue a correction and an apology for something that happened last night on Inside the NBA. ... In the course of our discussion, we passed on some bad information that Billy Ray Bates had passed away.

While it was inadvertent, it was also inaccurate and… pic.twitter.com/bUZ5awiBsF
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 21, 2025

There's no denying that "Inside the NBA" is one of the most well-loved shows in basketball. The same can be said of how most fans view O'Neal, Johnson, Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, who have hosted this show for many years.

However, there are times like these when they are involved in the occasional blunder.

As Johnson said in the statement, they are not making any excuses for their error. Instead, they have decided to issue a sincere public apology in the hope that everyone can now move on from the issue.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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