Magic Johnson is widely known as the greatest point guard of all time, and he overcame a lot in his career, including HIV and a $2 million problem that came with it.
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Johnson was a force of nature when he played. In the 1990s, he took the Lakers back to the top of the NBA world alongside the legendary Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
They won five titles, and Johnson won three Finals MVPs. In his first Finals appearance, Magic filled in at center to fill the gap left by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s injury, and he dominated.
In game 6 of the 1980 Finals, Abdul-Jabbar was out with an ankle injury from the previous game, and so Magic took over at center. Just like LeBron, Magic feasted as he piled on 42 points, 15 rebounds, seven assists in a series clinching 123-107 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Magic Johnson luckily had a $2 million lawsuit dropped
In 1991, Magic made a startling announcement to the rest of the NBA world. He revealed that he had been diagnosed with HIV, the virus which causes AIDS.
Doctors and scientists knew far less about the virus back then than they do now, and there was a lot of concern about what that would mean for his life.
However, Magic has lived with the disease for 30+ years now thanks to modern medicine and treatment. Another problem with Johnson’s HIV diagnosis was the stigma behind it at the time. Many NBA players felt like they’d get infected if they played alongside Johnson which, of course, isn’t the case.
Johnson was also sued because of his diagnosis. Waymer Moore sued Johnson for $2 million, alleging that Johnson had given her AIDS.
Thankfully for Johnson, the case was dismissed by a US judge with the reason being undisclosed. Johnson’s attorney, Howard Weitzman, said, ″The case is dismissed. The parties are going to get on with their lives. I’m sure Mr. Johnson is pleased the case is dismissed.″
Johnson claimed that he did physically interact with Moore, but he did not know that he had the virus when he did so. Moore contended that Johnson knew he had HIV or that he knew he was at risk because he was promiscuous, and therefore, it was his fault.
