Magic Johnson The NBA Superstar Who Smashed HIV Stigma Then Built A Huge Fortune

FLASHBACK: This Article Is More Than 3 Years Old

In 7 November 1991, a press conference in Inglewood, California, brought America to a standstill. Against a black-draped backdrop, dressed in a black suit, white shirt and multicoloured tie, Earvin “Magic” Johnson, spoke calmly into a single microphone and told the world that he had been diagnosed with HIV.

Cameras flashed and reporters clamoured to ask questions, but Johnson, National Basketball Association (NBA) superstar and one of the world’s most revered athletes, appeared unfazed as he announced his immediate retirement. Had he grappled with his own mortality? When had he found out? How had he acquired the virus? What would he do next?

 
“I plan on going on living for a long time, bugging you guys like I always have,” he told reporters, his optimism surprising those who viewed his condition as a death sentence. “I guess now I get to enjoy some of the other sides of living.”
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