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Happy 50th Birthday Magic


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Happy 50th Birthday Magic

"I never thought I'd see this celebration. You probably didn't either.

 

At least not on the day that shook us to our core nearly 18 years ago - yes, 18 years! - when Earvin (Magic) Johnson told us he was HIV positive.

 

On Nov. 7, 1991, America thought it was looking at a dead man holding a news conference.

 

Instead, Magic turns 50 today.

 

Where were you when you heard?

 

I remember as if it happened this afternoon. Actually, I heard before you. I was an editor at Sports Illustrated and about three hours before the nationally televised announcement, a source close to Magic informed me the three-time MVP "has AIDS." (He was wrong, of course, but it shows we were still learning the language of HIV and AIDS.)

 

Because we were still in the media dark ages -- before Twitter and websites -- I couldn't break the story. Heck I couldn't even tell anyone at SI because everyone was out to lunch. When my editor returned we both sat in his office stunned.

 

Then we watched, and while no one said it aloud, almost everyone thought Magic would soon be dead."

---

http://sports.yahoo.com/top/blog/roy_s_johnson/post/Magic-at-50-The-ultimate-playmaker;_ylt=AhSLvaEW80KozBGYKw5BcWC8vLYF?urn=top,182800

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