On this day in NBA history...

[1990hornet]

On November 7th, 1991, 20 years ago, Magic Johnson announced his first retirement effective immediately due to contracting HIV.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/magic111107/remember-magic-johnson-hiv-announcement-20-years-later

[NJTank]

Beat me to it.

When he first announced it I bet few thought 20 years later Magic would still be alive, especiallt when Freddie Mercury died of AIDS just a few weeks later. Magic getting HIV may have been the best thing that ever happened to that disease. It took it from being a "gay" disease, and really brought it home that anyone even a top athleete could get the disease if they undertook risky behavior. Before Magic got HIV nobody knew the difference between AIDS and HIV, while it effectively ended his career a lot of good came out of it, and the fact 20 years later Magic is alive and doing well just shows how far we came. The attention he gave and the face he gave the disease really helped advance the cause for a cure.

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

Beat me to it.

When he first announced it I bet few thought 20 years later Magic would still be alive, especiallt when Freddie Mercury died of AIDS just a few weeks later. Magic getting HIV may have been the best thing that ever happened to that disease. It took it from being a "gay" disease, and really brought it home that anyone even a top athleete could get the disease if they undertook risky behavior. Before Magic got HIV nobody knew the difference between AIDS and HIV, while it effectively ended his career a lot of good came out of it, and the fact 20 years later Magic is alive and doing well just shows how far we came. The attention he gave and the face he gave the disease really helped advance the cause for a cure.

I remember being in grade school when this was announced. it totally blew me away.

[The_Admiral]

Magic getting HIV may have been the best thing that ever happened to that disease. It took it from being a "gay" disease,

hm hm hm hm hmm, not saying anything, hm hm hmmmm

[-kj]

Yeah, Tank's phrasing is terrible there; however, he did make a point somewhere in that. It certainly helped raise awareness of HIV/AIDS as being more than "gay cancer". It's a bit sad that it took that to step up efforts to combat the disease and break that stereotype, but in those times it wasn't surprising.

[dbadefense1990]

Kobe can grab all the rings and records he wants. Magic is the true Los Angeles Laker to me.

Think of all the titles the Lakers would have won had Magic not retired the first time...

[NJTank]

They would have never won another title with Magic. The year before the announcement the Lakers lost handily to the Bulls who were starting their dynasty.

[the_fan]

Beat me to it.

When he first announced it I bet few thought 20 years later Magic would still be alive, especiallt when Freddie Mercury died of AIDS just a few weeks later. Magic getting HIV may have been the best thing that ever happened to that disease. It took it from being a "gay" disease, and really brought it home that anyone even a top athleete could get the disease if they undertook risky behavior. Before Magic got HIV nobody knew the difference between AIDS and HIV, while it effectively ended his career a lot of good came out of it, and the fact 20 years later Magic is alive and doing well just shows how far we came. The attention he gave and the face he gave the disease really helped advance the cause for a cure.

Amazing post Tank. You truely are an insipiration.

[dbadefense1990]

They would have never won another title with Magic. The year before the announcement the Lakers lost handily to the Bulls who were starting their dynasty.

I think they were just too exhausted in the Finals after taking care of the Blazers in the WCF (Portland, btw, had a better overall record that season than the Bulls).

Kareem retired after the 1989 season, the Lakers are the top team the next year.

Pat Riley resigns after 1990, the Lakers are a respectable #3 in the West in 1991.

But Magic's gone, and all of a sudden, the Lakers end up in the cellar for the next 4-5 years or so.

[slapshot]

Up until that time, most (if not all) people who suffered from HIV got sickly, skinny, and died.

Magic got fat. And has lived 20+ years.

Anyway, in his own deconstructivist way, Tank is right. Magic put a very public heterosexual face on a disease that was primarily associated with homosexuals, and helped give it the publicity that otherwise would have been hidden underneath a dumb stigma.

[NJTank]

Up until that time, most (if not all) people who suffered from HIV got sickly, skinny, and died.

Magic got fat. And has lived 20+ years.

Anyway, in his own deconstructivist way, Tank is right. Magic put a very public heterosexual face on a disease that was primarily associated with homosexuals, and helped give it the publicity that otherwise would have been hidden underneath a dumb stigma.

I remember when he announced it the general feeling was he had 10-15 years at most to live. That HIV eventually became AIDS and than after that it was only a matter of time. They actually had prayers like Pat Riley leading the Our Father at MSG in some NBA arenas that night before the game.

[Cujo]

Kobe can grab all the rings and records he wants. Magic is the true Los Angeles Laker to me.

Think of all the titles the Lakers would have won had Magic not retired the first time...

Doubtful. The torch had already been passed to Michael and the Bulls (see the 1991 NBA Finals).

Magic Johnson was still a superstar in '91, but was definitely on the decline -- as were the "Showtime" Lakers.

[OnWis97]

Up until that time, most (if not all) people who suffered from HIV got sickly, skinny, and died.

Magic got fat. And has lived 20+ years.

Anyway, in his own deconstructivist way, Tank is right. Magic put a very public heterosexual face on a disease that was primarily associated with homosexuals, and helped give it the publicity that otherwise would have been hidden underneath a dumb stigma.

I remember when he announced it the general feeling was he had 10-15 years at most to live. That HIV eventually became AIDS and than after that it was only a matter of time. They actually had prayers like Pat Riley leading the Our Father at MSG in some NBA arenas that night before the game.

I don't even know about that. I think most people figured he'd be dead in a couple of years.

I'll never forget that day. Came home and Magic's on TV (and we did not even have cable) in a suit. My Dad says "Magic's got AIDS" (he later corrected himself about it being HIV...but we, like most, barely knew the difference). I went and played raquetball and came home to find out my grandfather died.

Anyway, as Tank said, Magic getting HIV was key to speeding up our understanding, addressing some fears, and moving away from "too much" comfort (i.e., "I'm not gay, so I can't get it." And he's handled it very well for 20 years.

[The_Admiral]

While Magic's diagnosis did erase the perception that HIV/AIDS was only for gay people, isn't it pretty much an open secret by 2011 that Magic had some, er, dalliances on the other side?

[Mac the Knife]

My initial thought at the announcement? Honestly? "Good. Get his ass out of basketball." A little over the top in retrospect, even for a Boston Celtic fan. It didn't occur to me at that moment that HIV was considered a death sentence, or that this was a sick man. I just wanted him out of the NBA so the Celtics could possibly win another title. Sick on my part, but true.

Johnson has in many ways been a double-edged sword with respect to the illness and its treatment. On the one hand, his 20+ years of dealing with it have given hope and inspiration to millions, demonstrating that someone can live a rich, robust, full life with the disease. On the other hand, he's at least partly responsible for nay-sayers to diminish the emphasis on curing HIV/AIDS (I have heard things such as, "Magic Johnson proved it's just a chronic condition," "Nobody dies of AIDS anymore," and "Magic's still alive because he has enough money for the drugs that keep him alive.")

The white-hot intense focus on curing HIV/AIDS is, IMHO, diminished considerably. While in the 1980's and early 1990's you couldn't flip your remote through 5-6 channels without coming across a PSA promoting awareness, today it's virtually off the national radar by comparison. That's sad, but it's at least in some small part due to Johnson's success in fighting it. While I'm not for a second saying that Johnson dying would have been better in terms of securing a cure for others, his "HIV/AIDS legacy" if you will isn't entirely positive when viewed through that prism.