In fact, I hated any player that wasn't Charles Barkley or didn't play with Charles Barkley. That was a long list.
But then Magic announced he was retiring and had come down with a bad case of the HIV. Well, no one knew a lot about HIV at that point. The assumption that everyone pretty much jumped to was that Magic must have been gay. Because if there's one thing we knew about Magic Johnson, it's that he REALLY loved kissing Isiah Thomas.
Hand it to Magic, though. He didn't run away from the rumors. He stood up to the stereotypes and helped educate the world on the truths about AIDS and how to help prevent it. For instance, one good thing to have is a lot of different names for your pet condom.
In fact, HIV and AIDS were topics that a lot of people didn't want to discuss because sex overall is an uncomfortable topic. But, it's an issue that people were beginning to realize was going to become a problem if people didn't speak out about it.
So, with Magic's help, celebrities all over began taking a stand on safe sex and practicing abstinence. Stars such as Jaleel White as Jaleel White but dressed exactly like Urkel so that you recognize him and listen to his important message.
That's right, it was and still is cool to say, "No" to sex. Especially if the other has AIDS.
Today Magic continues to contribute to the NBA as an analyst, ambassador and overall pretty healthy looking dude.
For the record, Magic and Isiah are still real tight.
No comments:
Post a Comment