Profile of a Basketball Legend, Superstar athlete and AIDS activist: Magic Johnson
Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson is a former basketball player with the NBA Lakers and a leading HIV and AIDS activist today. He was one of the best basketball players of his time and led the NBA in scoring records. He is thought by many to be the best point guard ever to play the game alongside Michael Jordan. Magic Johnson sent shock waves throughout the sports world when he revealed in 1991 that he had HIV. His announcement and subsequent work for the prevention of the disease has made him a hero in many people’s minds. He has done more to break down stereotypes and negative impressions about the disease than anyone else. He is a true champion and a great human being who deserves all the credit and praise anyone can give him.
Magic Johnson was born in 1959 in Michigan and grew up loving basketball. He idolised the top players in the NBA at that time and wanted to be just like them. He started to play the game in high school and instantly found his calling in life. Jonson was a phenomenal player as a youngster and led his high school team to a 27 win 1 loss record and won the state championship. It was while he was in high school that the name Magic was attached to him because of his great playing style.
After high school he attended Michigan State University and after two years was drafted into the NBA in 1979 as a first round draft pick by the LA Lakers. This draft pick teamed up the future legend with an all time great who was already playing on the Lakers team; Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Magic was brought on to try and help the Lakers win a Championship title which they had failed to do so with Abdul-Jabbar alone. Johnson averaged 18 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists in every game in his rookie season and dominated the rest of the competition. Magic even helped his team win the NBA championship in the playoffs of the 1980 season that the team won even though Abdul-Jabbar was injured. The rest of his career was equally as good and he became the premier player in the league. Even though he had his ups and downs, no one can deny that Magic Johnson was at the top of his game during his formidable playing years.
Then 1991 rolled around and during a routine medical check up for a life insurance policy, Magic Johnson was given the horrific news that he was HIV positive. He was married at the time and his wife was pregnant with their first child. It was a life changing moment for the tall basketball player and after his wife and child turned out to be HIV negative, he started his long fight against the disease. What made the news even more startling was the fact that Magic decided to announce the fact that he had HIV and that he was retiring immediately from basketball at a press conference and effectively told the world. The news made shockwaves around the world because at that time HIV and AIDS were very taboo subjects and no one talked about them openly. Magic pushed the disease out into the open and decided to fight it in public. He started to take a cocktail of drugs and the first two years of the disease were very tough. He had mood swings, was ill a lot of the time but he managed to get through and started living with it. He decided to return to basketball in 1992 and was part of the 1992 Dream Team that went to the Olympics. He returned to the NBA after that but there was a lot of criticism from players and coaches about the safety of playing with HIV. Despite the concerns Magic played a few games and then retired again. He came out of retirement for a third time but permanently retired in 1994 after playing 32 games in that season.
Away from the court, Johnson set up the Magic Johnson Foundation to help combat HIV and AIDS. He has found immense fame and has been given numerous accolades after his playing days for the work he has done in trying to help people fight the disease. Over the years he has become the face of the fight against HIV and AIDS and has done more to eradicate the negative ideas and stereotypes surrounding the disease than anyone else in the world. He is living proof that HIV does not have to kill a person and he has been living a very healthy life for the last 19 years with the disease. For all of his achievements on the court and off the court, Magic Johnson is truly a legendary basketball player and a great human being.
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