Chicago Bulls legend Dennis Rodman was known for a plethora of bold choices he made off, and on court. During the 1991 All-Star game, Rodman found himself going up against the legendary Magic Johnson. Magic had only recently made his HIV announcement, and the response had been one filled with fear. However, Rodman claimed in his book “As Bad As I Wanna Be” that his physical standoff against Magic served as an example for the rest of America.
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Speaking after the game, both Michael Jordan and Magic had praised Rodman and claimed that the game can serve as an education for a lot of people. Despite HIV having no chance of being contracted without the exchange of bodily fluids, a plethora of NBA players had been reluctant to play against Magic.
Dennis Rodman had a physical standoff with Magic Johnson in 1991 game
Rodman, unlike most other players, had shown up against Magic just like he used to in every game. Determined to not let him dominate, he muscled and fought physically against the Lakers legend the entire game.
After the match, Magic and Jordan held a press conference where they discussed Rodman’s physicality against the former. Johnson claimed that if nothing happened to Rodman, other people could also stop worrying about contracting HIV from him:
“After that game. Magic and Michael Jordan had a big press conference, and they talked about how I muscled Magic [Johnson] and fought him every step of the way. Magic said he appreciated the competition, because he knew that was the only way he could get better. Then he said, “I think Dennis was trying to give this country a message. He hugged me, slammed me, beat on me, and nothing happened to him. So we don’t need to worry about anybody else having anything happen to them. He drove it home when he said, ‘I think we educated a lot of people tonight.'”
“I thought we did, too, but I never gave it a second thought. I hope we did educate some people—the people who might fear the disease for the wrong reasons.”
Of course, Magic had already announced his retirement in November 1991, which was partly due to the response that the media and other players came up with. The All-Star match eventually failed, in the sense that Magic could only return temporarily to the NBA in 1996.
Rodman had no regard for Magic Johnson’s HIV diagnosis
Rodman’s interview before the game had already informed fans and media about his intentions. Claiming that they weren’t heading out for s*x with Magic Johnson, Rodman had no regard for the HIV diagnosis.
He claimed that he didn’t if the “guy he was guarding had HIV.” Rodman said that he would still go and slam the player.
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Of course, Rodman was aware enough to know that he was at no risk of contracting the virus by merely playing basketball. His disregard of the disease was in truth a bit of a message to other players who had made a big deal out of Johnson’s condition.
