On November 7th, 1991 the sports world would forever be changed by a future NBA legend, a press conference, and three words: HIV. Magic Johnson was the point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers and beloved by so many people around the country, he was a very popular figure in sports at the time and one of the top players in the NBA. He won five NBA titles, NBA Finals MVP three times, and league MVP three times. Magic Johnson had a successful career up until the 7th of November when his career would forever be changed, on the November 7th, 1991 Magic Johnson held a press conference and made an announcement that shocked many people, Magic Johnson announced that he was HIV positive and that he would be retiring from the NBA immediately. Many people were shocked and heart broken at the fact that one of the most popular athletes in the world had a disease that he would probably die from; a lot of people wanted to know where and how did he get it and later on after the press conference he said that he had slept with a lot of different women while on the road for basketball games and that he never used any protection. At the time HIV/AIDS was looked at as the gay man's disease that only gay people could get it, or people who shared needles could get it but people were wrong. Magic explained to many people that anybody can get this disease that it doesn't matter if you are gay or straight or whatever, there aren't any exceptions to this disease. Magic Johnson begin to promote aids awareness and speak to people about the disease and discuss ways to prevent you from catching the disease; Magic Johnson would not let this disease hold him back. During the time of NBA All-Star game Magic Johnson came back to play in which would be regarded as one of his greatest games and led the western conference to a victory and was the game's MVP. Soon afterwards he would become apart of which many consider to be the greatest basketball team in the history of the sport the "Dream Team" this Olympic basketball team consisted of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, David Robinson, Scottie Pippen, John Stockton, Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullin, and Clyde Drexler. With the unbelievable team they would dominate every team in the Olympics that year and take home gold medals. Magic Johnson came back to the NBA and played one last season and would retire for good in 1996. Magic Johnson had an amazing career filled with triumphs and tribulations and he was able to overcome the backlash he got from his announcement that he was HIV positive and have an amazing career and accomplish so much during his time in the NBA. He was one of the greatest players to ever play in the NBA but more importantly he was a role model to so many that showed that no matter what happens in your life or obstacles you may face you can overcome them and live your dreams just like he did his.
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteMagic Johnson has overcome something many people thought would have ended his popularity. Now when Magic Johnson comes to mind the first thing you think of is not that he has HIV but his accomplishments. The thing I most agree with you on is he was a role model and overcame obstacles. This to me helped out many other individuals across the world. He has also changed the stereotypes on the disease and helping to find a cure for it. Without Magic Johnson I think HIV may still be a disease people think of as a gay man’s disease. This relates to how a gay athlete needs to come out to change opinions on that, like Magic did with HIV.
Josiah Blevins
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteYou brought up a lot of good points and outlined the events of from when Magic made the "Announcement" to where he is today. I think that it is pretty amazing to see someone like Magic overcome the obstacle that is HIV/AIDS. When he was diagnosed with the disease it was pretty much thought of as a death sentence, but he has overcome that and gone way beyond. It is impressive to see the massive list of accomplishments that Magic has achieved since retiring from basketball. I also agree with Josiah; a gay athlete needs to come out and show that it is ok for that to exist in professional sports.
Derek Zyski
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteMagic has fought his own battle with what many thought would be his own death sentence. When I think of Magic Johnson, I think of him supporting the Michigan State basketball program and supporting his alma mater and not that he has HIV. His ability to be okay in his own skin and accept what had happened to him allows others in his same situation know that it is possible to overcome great adversities in life. The more people who are acceptable with what is going on with their life, rather someone being gay or has a disease, the more likely others will be open to their news. Athletes and non-athletes can learn from how Magic approached his obstacle and has continued to the man all of us know him as, Magic Johnson the man with the smile.
- Jenny Kelley
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI liked this blog you made about the announcement. I think a lot of people fail to realize how much hate Magic Johnson took. He lost many fans, respect, and all-stars around the league were afraid to play with him. Although there were rough patches for Magic, he also had more support then any athlete that I know who had HIV. I believe Magic received respect not only around the league, but also by society because of the way he handled the situation. If this happened in todays sport I don't think the average athlete would receive that much respect. As we touched on in class it would have to be another all-star athlete to gain as much respect as Magic did.
-Brett Creamer
Brett,
DeleteI agree with you that Magic received a lot more respect than your average athlete would receive. However, like you stated, he also handled it better that your average athlete. At that time not many people knew what the HIV virus was and what affects it actually had. Many thought it was a death sentence. However, Magic took the positive approach to it and got real facts about it and very good doctors. He learned that he could live with the virus. To this day he is still living and remains a spokesperson for people with the HIV virus. I applaud Magic for being able to stay positive through this situation and for being able to keep his family together.
-Tim Love
This post brings me back to when I first watched the ESPN 30 for 30 film on Magic Johnson called "The Announcement". This was one of the best 30 for 30 films I have ever seen. The part that stuck out to me the most and still does is when Magic Johnson was going around the country and talking to people about the disease. One stop had him in an elementary school. In the school he was talking to this little girl who was born with HIV. The girl busted out crying and was saying things like she just wants people to know that she isn't different from anyone else. She said she just wanted to be treated the same as everyone else. This scene always reminds me that thousands of people of all ages are affected with this virus, some by negligence and some are born into the situation like the girl that Magic Johnson was talking to.
ReplyDelete-Tim Love
I think that Magic Johnson handled his whole situation very well. For being an athlete with a disease, especially HIV, he could have done so much more wrong than right, but he found a positive way to handle a negative situation. I agree that most athletes would have retired and been done with it. I think it shows a lot of Magic's character to return from that and still be such a great success despite all the scrutiny. Magic had to deal with people being afraid to even be on the court with him, on top of health issues. I think he really helped change the public's opinion of HIV, a disease that soceity has pegged for gay males. I think it is inspirational that he kept a smiling face through all of it, and that he is still known for being such a great athlete, not the NBA star with HIV.
ReplyDeleteJenn Zoellick
Magic Johnson was the perfect candidate to attract the virus HIV, I know that sounds bad but look how he handled it. Magic made the community he lived in, the rest of the NBA and their fans and probably the whole country become more enlightened on the topic of the HIV Virus. He was already a media junky and loved goofing off and being in the spot light so for him to be the “spokesperson” worked out very nice from a spreading the knowledge stand point. Since he was such a high profile athlete he was able to tell everyone about what the virus was and that you didn’t have to be gay to get it and most importantly how it was contracted. Most people at the time knew very little about the virus so when Johnson came out that he had it people were unsure at first but eventually realized that he is still “Magic Johnson.” It showed a lot of courage form Magic to publically announce it and go through all that he did but because of the type of person he is he was still loved by the fans and had the biggest support group anyone could ask for. He handled the situation better than most athletes would have and if this happened to a not so well know player than I think the reaction of the NBA community would have reacted in a lot different way.
ReplyDeleteBY: RJ Hefflinger
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteExcellent job of summing up Magic Johnson's career and how he turned what could've been a career ending illness into a triumphant return to the game in which he was so good at. Magic's return to the game to play with HIV is often times overlooked as one of the greater story lines in sports but it truly is. HIV leads to AIDS and often times leads to death which is an extremely scary thing for anyone. Knowing this, Johnson was extremely open minded at his press conference and didn't allow the virus to stop him from playing. His method of presenting his situation to the public and then forgetting about the negative connotation that goes along with the disease in order to return to the game he loved is truly an inspirational story for anyone.
-Chris Cournan
You covered everything that basically happened in the Magic Johnson/HIV case, well done. Like Derek said, I think it is great to see Magic Johnson still battling HIV today. His story is remarkable, and crazy. He has handled his situation perfectly, and like Jenn said, the way he handled everyone being "scared" to play against him and HIV being a disease only gay males get changed what everyone use to view HIV/AIDS as. I thought the press conference we watched in class when he admitted he had contracted the HIV/AIDS virus was awesome, the way he talked and handled the situation really showed what kind of person he was. Also, him still battling this disease is possibly changing what people thought of as a "death sentence."
ReplyDelete-Joey D'Agostino
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteI think that Magic being able to survive his diagnosis for this long gives people with the disease hope that they can live a full life despite the hardships. I think it really helped a lot of different "groups" after Magic became stricken with the disease, because no one really thinks that anything like this can happen to celebrities. The way people supported Magic is the way that people should support everyone else, regardless of who they are. I think that today, if a gay athlete came out, people would give a lot more support than someone like Tim Hardaway did a decade ago. People know the ramifications of acting out against gays, and people are learning it's a part of society and that it will affect them in one way or the other.
Nate Dudzik
I personally like the story of Magic Johnson's life starting from all the way back when he played at Michigan State up until his now as he works for ESPN as a basketball analyst. I don't know how many know this but Magic also has his own bracelet to support HIV/AIDS research. It hasn't gotten the same kind of publicity that Lance Armstrong's Livestrong bracelet has received, but stands for the same type of meaning.
ReplyDeleteAs for the 30 for 30, it is one of my favorite documentaries because it is told by Magic himself. Magic is one of the most charismatic athletes to every play professionally and very entertaining. I also liked how Magic had the best possible attitude toward being diagnosed with the HIV virus. Of course he was sad he attracted a virus that had implications of a future death, but how he took on the duty of being the spokesman for the HIV virus was remarkable. He helped others reject the stereotypes that followed HIV/AIDS and showed that they can live normal lives just like everyone else.
--Ollie Goss