Inside The NBA Crew Talks Politics; EJ Wrote In John Kasich

Instead of previewing the upcoming game between the Heat and the Bulls, the hosts of Inside The NBA instead spoke for a solid 10 minutes about the election of Donald Trump and how they felt a day removed from it. None of the panel supported Trump, but everyone urged their fellow disaffected citizens to get over Clinton’s loss and respect Trump’s authority as president.

Charles Barkley says he was in shock, but ultimately, he said he respects the office of president.

Kenny Smith said, “I’ve been an NBA player, and a black man, for a long time, and I know how to take a loss,” while expressing hope that Trump would change.

Shaq mostly shook his head at Trump’s lack of experience.

The coup de grâce was Ernie Johnson admitting he wrote in John Kasich, then speaking very candidly about his religious faith and how it motivates him and the need he feels to reflect and self-evaluate going forward. Nobody had anything really spicy to say, Ernie’s out-of-nowhere support for the meat lad aside, but at least TNT was comfortable letting them talk for such a long time.