I never thought that Magic Johnson would have been a representative of the AIDS/HIV virus. He was a dominate basketball player and has gained worldwide respect based on his God-given ability to play the game. I think his story is a good example of how unwritten life can be and why we must never take anything for granted. The universal stereotype of AIDS is that only homosexuals contract the virus and a large percent of cases end up fatal. The article "The Politics of the Body and the Body Politic: Magic Johnson and the Idealogy of AIDS" goes in depth about the virus and Magic's struggle of being a living representative of it.
Because Magic Johnson is not a homosexual and still contracted the virus, the world was in utter shock and disbelief. King writes, "Knowing that his condition could not be kept a secret forever, he could choose to acknowledge it early and end his career or try to hide it until (or if) he developed AIDS." I think Magic made a very brave and wise decision to retire from the NBA in order to put all of his time and energy into getting healthier. I sympathize with him because of the public attention he had to endure. He faced the world like a man and made all of us believe that he was in total control of the situation.
I am too young to appreciate Magic Johnson for his athletic capabilities. However, I am old enough to appreciate his ability to overcome a truly horrifying and embarrassing situation. He had a choice: to dig a hole and hide or face the truth like a man and help others in the same condition. I know his life has been anything but normal. In fact, I think it has been very difficult and stressful despite all of the athletic success. Magic Johnson should be proud of himself and what he as accomplished thus far. As a teammate and friend, I would like to think I would have still played against him on the court. The chances of contracting the AIDS virus through playing basketball has to be very very slim. I do not disagree with those players who were quick to oppose playing against him. I understand their decisions and hopefully, so did Magic.
Stories like Magic Johnson's are inspiring and eye-opening. God truly has a sense of humor with the obstacles he places in our lives. Magic Johnson took a horrible and extremely personal situation and used it to help others. I think that is the lesson behind all of the pain. I liked discussing this topic in class because I am embarrassed to admit that I was unaware of Johnson's health history and reasoning behind his retirement from the NBA. I am better educated on the topic and I appreciate everyone's willingness to discuss this topic in class because I was very interested in it.
I am glad we discussed this topic in class as well, because I think it provides another way to see the relationship between sport and gender. Another thing that King said was that most of the females who were referred to in stories about Magic, were considered to be "threatening" and/or "carriers of the disease," instead of possibly being victims who might have contracted the disease through Magic. Yet, of course Magic was the one who the world knew, so most of the women who were involved with him remained anonymous (unlike the women in Tiger's life!). I seem to recall that perhaps one woman might have sued Magic, saying that she contracted the disease from him, but I am not sure what became of that. I think that his announcement about being hiv positive was as shocking as the revelations that have recently come out about Tiger Woods.
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