Everyone now knows the different ways of attaining the HIV/AIDS virus. However in 1991, not everyone was as educated about the disease. Back then, attaining the disease was thought to of come from only a few ways, gay sex and excessive partnerships. Both of these things were not highly supported in the early '90's when Magic came out with his disease however, somehow he received incredible support after announcing his retirement. Why did he receive such incredible support from his family, friends and peers at this time when in today's society, a miscue of that magnitude by a celebrity of his stature gets completely torn down.
When Magic announced his retirement and disease he was one of the most recognizable sports figures in the United States. He was married at this time and had already had one son with another one on the way. Magic openly admitted that he tried to "accommodate” as many women as possible, even while he was married. So why wouldn’t he get reprimanded by the public in the same ways that Tiger Woods and other professional athletes have gotten reprimanded. Tiger Woods was found to be cheating on his wife with several women, just as Magic Johnson admitted, however as Tiger Woods was faced with undeniable scrutiny, Magic Johnson was garnered with incredible support. Was it because Magic had attained the HIV virus which trumped his infidelities and created a sympathetic feeling for him having to give up the game he loved?
The ESPN 30 for 30 documentary “The Announcement” is a story which gives the whole background of Magic from his playing days at Michigan State, to the aftermath of his retirement announcement. It is quite revealing and shows just how Magic came to be Magic Johnson. He was no different than any other athlete of his same popularity, but for some reason when he made a mistake and was forced to leave the game, he received support and sympathy where as other athletes received scrutiny and get labeled as selfish and not worthy. Magic did not deserve the support he received, he was a great player yes but was also a married man who contracted the HIV virus from someone other than his spouse.
I wrote something similar to this on my other comment. I did not support him as much because of how he contracted the disease. He was very well respected, but the number of women he slept with is beyond ridiculous and the fact he got the disease from one of the 20,000 women rather than his wife. I am glad, however, that his wife did not contract the disease, but it is unfortunate that she has to worry about contracting the disease and have to be very precautionary to make sure she remains HIV/AIDS negative. I believe that many looked past how he contracted the disease rather than understand that how he caught the disease was extremely disgusting.
ReplyDeleteCasey Daulbaugh