ESPN Films 'The Announcement': Magic Johnson Was Perfect Face for Fight of HIV
ESPN Films may have constructed a masterpiece with their documentary detailing Magic Johnson's announcement that he had tested HIV-positive in 1991, and the fight he has gone through to keep hope alive for a cure to the dreaded disease.
Johnson called a press conference on November 7, 1991, to talk not about his basketball career, but to announce that he had been stricken with AIDS. It was viewed as "the gay disease" up until that point.
But although Johnson had been dealt a bad hand in life, he chose to turn it into a positive, using his basketball podium to raise awareness for the fight against AIDS, for which there has yet to be a cure.
In a way, Johnson was the best face to put to the AIDS virus. His happy-go-lucky personality was far different than the media robots other superstars of his time were like. Johnson showed his personality and flair to the fans, making him a fan favorite wherever he went.
But Johnson first had to fight against the disease to save his own life, which 'The Announcement' details the ins-and-outs of. He also had to change the image of the disease at the same time from a virus that was known to only infect the gay community to a disease anyone could be infected with, even superstars.
Johnson handled the disease and the way it affected him like nobody else could, with a smiling face and booming personality.
He never let it affect his basketball game, either.
He was named the MVP of the 1992 NBA All-Star Game after a performance for the ages, and was a part of the "Dream Team" later that year.
This was a man that could have let a dreaded disease ruin his life, yet he overcame it and continues to overcome it to this day. He does all that while raising awareness for the disease and helping others overcome the same obstacles he hurdled over.
It was his basketball mentality that allowed him to compete against a never-ceasing virus that has yet to give up. Johnson will continue to fight it to the end.
