Reactions to billionaire Ted Turner's death at 87 were not confined to the cable news universe he revolutionized with CNN. Turner also left an indelible mark on the sports world as the owner of TNT, which aired NBA games featuring Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, LeBron James, and others from 1989 through the 2024-25 season. Even after TNT lost domestic media rights, the network's popular 'Inside the NBA' studio show continues to be licensed to ESPN, allowing fans to still see beloved hosts Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, Ernie Johnson, and Shaquille O'Neal.
Inside the NBA Pays Tribute
'Ted was an architect of impact across the globe: broadcasting, journalism, philanthropy and sports,' Johnson told ESPN's audience during Inside the NBA's tribute to Turner on Wednesday.
Sports fans may be less familiar with his yachting success, which includes an America's Cup win in 1977. However, Turner's impact on baseball is unquestioned, as many Atlanta Braves fans were quick to remember after his death on Wednesday.
Wet T-Shirt Contests and Managing the Braves
'Ted Turner used to have wet t-shirt contests on college night at Braves games,' Outkick.com's Clay Travis remembered on X. But it was a bizarre stunt in 1977, when he managed the Braves for a single game, that fans seemed to remember most following his death.
Turner actually began the 1977 season by getting suspended by commissioner Bowie Kuhn over his pursuit of free-agent outfielder Gary Matthews. But with the team mired in a 16-game losing streak, Turner sent manager Dave Bristol on a scouting assignment and named himself interim skipper.
'I have found out all I can from the stands,' Turner told the Atlanta Journal at the time. 'Now I want to learn first hand what is going on, what is wrong. It can't hurt us. Not now. Not the way we're going.'
As legend has it, Turner offered the leadoff spot in the batting order to pitching great Phil Niekro, who thought better of it and ultimately hit in the No. 9 spot. Regardless, the Braves would fall, 2-1, to the Pittsburgh Pirates for their 17th straight defeat.
The following game, National League president Chub Feeney intervened and ordered Turner out of the dugout. And as luck would have it, the Braves would win that game en route to a last-place finish in the NL East. Even now, Turner is still credited with an 0-1 record as Braves manager on BaseballReference.com.
Fans React
'He was definitely a character, but the type of character I was a fan of,' one fan remarked on X. 'That actually is awesome,' another added.
Turner would later sell the team in 2007, but not until after the Braves won their first World Series in Atlanta in 1995. The club had been champions in previous stops in Milwaukee and Boston but had yet to win the Fall Classic since moving to Atlanta in 1966.
Braves Dynasty
Turner stepped away from baseball operations in the late 1980s and the team went from worst to first in 1991, winning the NL pennant and losing a dramatic seven-game World Series to the Minnesota Twins. The next year, Turner bankrolled the $28 million acquisition of Cy Young winner Greg Maddux, who would join John Smoltz and Tom Glavine to form the most feared pitching trio in recent baseball history. The Braves would beat the Cleveland Indians in the 1995 World Series and remained the National League's preeminent team for the remainder of the decade.
Of course, it helped that fans across the country could watch Turner's Braves on another of his cable channels, TBS. 'I loved watching The Braves on TBS growing up in Bama just like a lot of people,' one fan wrote on X.
Remembering Ted Turner
Turner was also remembered by Dale Murphy, the legendary Braves outfielder who was an All-Star fixture in the 1980s. 'Nancy and I, and the whole Murphy family, along with the Braves family and TBS kids everywhere, were sad to hear of Ted's passing,' Murphy wrote on X. 'Hard to put into words the impact he had on us. We are grateful for the chance to play for Ted. He changed so much in this world with tenacity and courage. Thank you, Ted. Rest in peace.'
