Thirty years ago today Magic Johnson shocked the NBA and the world with his announcement of catching the HIV and then announced his retirement the very next moment.
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HIV and AIDS were just new terms of a viral infection in the early 1980s. People in the United States had very little to no idea of its cause. But everyone knew that after getting that virus people were having pneumonia-like symptoms and few were dying off of it.
Because of a lack of study, it was only seen as a virus spread among drug addicts and gay people.
It didn’t reach any of the celebrities or rich people in 10 years since its outbreak in the United States until it did. Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the heartthrob of the nation, basketball superstar of the Los Angeles Lakers, announced that he had contracted HIV.
This suddenly made the whole nation believe that HIV which at that time generally caused AIDS, can be contracted by anyone, not just gay people. And by the time Magic got the virus, it had claimed over 100,000 lives. Those were just the recorded deaths.
When Magic Johnson announced he’d contracted HIV, it sent shockwaves throughout the country
Many in the States started believing that they will eventually get the virus when Magic Johnson could get it. And then there was a whole new narrative for this virus to be considered a pandemic. There was a belief that if anyone caught it they will die, and most did.
Magic broke the news to the world 30 years ago, on November 7th, 1991. For the whole nation, it was as if their beloved 32-year old, has announced his own death sentence.
But Magic didn’t look upset at all in his interview, he announced the whole thing very casually with that magical smile in between when he said he is planning on living a long life with the virus.
He shocked everyone twice in the very same interview by announcing his retirement from the NBA at the peak of his game. He had led the Lakers to 5 titles before that, being one of the best players in the league for 12 years.
Everyone in the country had a new fear since Magic’s announcement. Johnson did understand the severity of the virus but was confident that he would fight it with all his strength and will be on the winning side, from day 1.
“It’s like your back is against the wall, and I think that you just have to come out swinging—and I’m swinging,” he said in his announcement.
After announcing his retirement from the NBA he did make a comeback as a coach in 1994 and then to play in 1996. But due to the fear of fellow NBA players, he decided to hang up his shoes permanently. He went on to become the biggest ambassador for HIV throughout the world, making people believe that it isn’t necessary that if they contract HIV, they will get AIDS and will die off of it.
In fact, he along with Dr. Anthony Fauci and many other researchers made it evident to people that they can live a healthy life even after contracting HIV. When Magic contracted the virus there was 1 drug to fight it, now there are 30-plus.
