NBA on TNT has apologized to Billy Ray Bates and his family after the hosts of its 'Inside the NBA' program wrongly said the fformer Portland Trail Blazers star and PBA import has already passed away.
READ: Billy Ray Bates trends as Barkley wonders: 'Is he still alive?
Ernie Johnson read the apology.
“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,” said Johnson.
WATCH:
The apology comes on the heels of a recent discussion in the ‘NBA on TNT’ telecast about Cleveland guard Ty Jerome scoring 28 points in his NBA playoff debut in the Cavaliers’ 121-100 win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday.
By doing so, Jerome became the fourth most prolific off-the-bench player in his playoff debut behind Bates, who had 29 in a 1980 playoff game when he was still with the Portland Trail Blazers, Ben Gordon (30) and Malik Monk (32).
In the course of the discussion, NBA great Charles Barkley said, “I wonder if Billy Ray is still alive.” After a long, awkward pause, his co-host Shaquille O’Neal responded that Bates has already passed away.
Fans were quick to correct Shaq on X, formerly Twitter.
Back in the Philippines, fans hold Bates with more reverence after a PBA career that saw the 6-foot-4 high-flyer win two championships with Crispa to complete a grand slam in 1983 and another title with Ginebra in 1986.
To this day, Bates, now 68, is still regarded as the GOAT (greatest of all time) among the imports to play in Asia's pioneering pro league.
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