Magic Johnson: 20 years later and still standing.
I was a 15-year old teenager freshly starting high school when I saw, on this day 20 years ago, the press conference given by Earvin Magic Johnson telling the whole world the shocking news that he contacted the dreaded HIV virus, putting an effective end to a Hall of Fame career in a Lakers uniform at age 32 .
-Magic Johnson has HIV???
-Really???
-Say ain’t so, Magic !!
Shocked and disbelieved, I left wondering how come all of this happen to the all-time assist leader and certainly one of the greatest to ever play the game? On many subsequent interviews, Johnson went on admitting that he did have many encounters with women during his playing days prior to his marriage that probably led to contact with the virus that can cause AIDS. Thankfully, her wife, pregnant at that time, was not affected. He did however play on a couple of occasions the following year. First at the NBA All-Star game in Orlando, where he put up a hell of show in front a sellout crowd leading the West to a 153-113 victory against the East. Then, along with his fellow teammates from the first edition of the Dream Team, he dazzled the whole planet all the way to win the 1992 Olympic tournament in Barcelona. Yes, he did make a comeback in 1996 but it didn’t last long.
20 years later, it is refreshing to see Magic still doing his things despite having the virus. I guess a healthy lifestyle is definitely keeping him from slowing down in spite of popular wisdom saying that an HIV positive has less than 5 years to live.
Here a clip of the press conference that shook the world on November 7, 1991.
