1991 : Magic Johnson announces he is HIV positive
On this day in 1991, basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson stuns
the world by announcing his sudden retirement from the Los Angeles
Lakers, after testing positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. At
the time, many Americans viewed AIDS as a gay white man's disease.
Johnson (1959- ), who is African American and heterosexual, was one of
the first sports stars to go public about his HIV-positive status.
Revered as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Johnson
spent his entire 13-season NBA career with the Lakers, helping them to
win five championships in the 1980s. The 6'9" point guard, a native of
Lansing, Michigan, was famous for his extraordinary passing skills,
contagious smile and love of the game. In 1981, he signed a 25-year
deal with the Lakers for $25 million, one of the NBA's first
over-the-top contracts.
Johnson, a three-time NBA "Most Valuable Player" and 12-time All-Star
team member, didn't completely hang up his basketball shoes after
announcing his retirement in 1991. He was voted most valuable player
of the 1992 NBA All-Star Game and played on the Olympic "Dream Team"
(alongside Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Patrick Ewing) that won gold
for the U.S. in Barcelona that summer. He briefly returned to the
Lakers for the 1993-94 season as head coach and made a short-lived
comeback as a Lakers player in the 1995-96 season.
Today, Johnson is a prominent spokesman for AIDS awareness and a
successful businessman, earning millions from a range of ventures,
including movie theaters and restaurants. He serves as an example of
how a variety of drug treatments have transformed AIDS from a death
sentence into a manageable condition for many people in the U.S.
Still, some 25 years after the first AIDS cases were reported, 25
million people worldwide have died of AIDS and another 40 million have
been infected with the virus.
history.com/tdih.do
1885 : Canada's transcontinental railway completed
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5503
1940 : Tacoma Bridge collapses
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=7074
1944 : FDR reelected a record third time
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5504
1989 : Two African American firsts in politics
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5505
##########################################
On this day in 1991, basketball legend Earvin "Magic" Johnson stuns
the world by announcing his sudden retirement from the Los Angeles
Lakers, after testing positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. At
the time, many Americans viewed AIDS as a gay white man's disease.
Johnson (1959- ), who is African American and heterosexual, was one of
the first sports stars to go public about his HIV-positive status.
Revered as one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Johnson
spent his entire 13-season NBA career with the Lakers, helping them to
win five championships in the 1980s. The 6'9" point guard, a native of
Lansing, Michigan, was famous for his extraordinary passing skills,
contagious smile and love of the game. In 1981, he signed a 25-year
deal with the Lakers for $25 million, one of the NBA's first
over-the-top contracts.
Johnson, a three-time NBA "Most Valuable Player" and 12-time All-Star
team member, didn't completely hang up his basketball shoes after
announcing his retirement in 1991. He was voted most valuable player
of the 1992 NBA All-Star Game and played on the Olympic "Dream Team"
(alongside Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Patrick Ewing) that won gold
for the U.S. in Barcelona that summer. He briefly returned to the
Lakers for the 1993-94 season as head coach and made a short-lived
comeback as a Lakers player in the 1995-96 season.
Today, Johnson is a prominent spokesman for AIDS awareness and a
successful businessman, earning millions from a range of ventures,
including movie theaters and restaurants. He serves as an example of
how a variety of drug treatments have transformed AIDS from a death
sentence into a manageable condition for many people in the U.S.
Still, some 25 years after the first AIDS cases were reported, 25
million people worldwide have died of AIDS and another 40 million have
been infected with the virus.
history.com/tdih.do
1885 : Canada's transcontinental railway completed
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5503
1940 : Tacoma Bridge collapses
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=7074
1944 : FDR reelected a record third time
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5504
1989 : Two African American firsts in politics
history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&id=5505
##########################################
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