On this day in 1991, Earvin “Magic” Johnson announced that he had HIV and retired from the NBA. He was one of the first major national athletes to do so. It stunned many: Johnson was a three-time NBA MVP and a 12-time All-Star team member. What’s more, at the time HIV was seen largely as a disease limited to the gay community.
Johnson played for the Los Angeles Lakers for 13 seasons, having signed a 25-year deal with them in 1981. He’d gotten married just two months before his diagnosis, with a child on the way.
Thanks to the help of the late David Stern, then commissioner of the NBA, Johnson was able to play in the Olympics as part of the U.S. team the next year, despite the fears of some players that they might catch HIV from playing with him. Johnson credits that decision with destigmatizing HIV/AIDS to a degree. The U.S. Olympic team won gold that year.
Johnson then went on to be head coach of the Lakers from 1993-1994 and rejoined the team for the 1995-1996 season. He remains very outspoken about HIV and AIDS awareness, and runs the Magic Johnson Foundation, which works on HIV/AIDS awareness and treatment.
For more on Johnson’s diagnosis and journey since, you can read this article from PBS.
