I usually lurk about gossip sites. I get my daily fix from that. Sometime back as I made my daily rounds…I stumbled upon MEDIATAKEOUT.COM. MTO (As it is fondly called) calls itself a black online site that works to further blacks in the showbiz. This must be extended to include actors, singers, sports stars, politicians and anyone who is famous for being famous (Read: Paris Hilton, Kim Kardashian and Nicole Richie).
This particular article was about Earvin “Magic” Johnson, the erstwhile basketball great who once plied his trade for Los Angeles Lakers Basketball team in the NBA. We all know Magic’s story. His HIV story. Well at least those of us that know a little bit about the sport of basketball.
Magic Johnson tested positive for HIV during one of his team’s physical test sessions in the early 1990’s. The announcement that followed shocked the sporting world and sent shockwaves thru the core of America. See, then, HIV was associated with homosexuals and it is believe that one a few heterosexuals contracted the virus. So it came as no huge surprise to Magic when he was branded as gay or bisexual. Although he vehemently denied this,he was thought to have had multiple sexual partners, including men. Magic announced that he’d had many partners during the course of his success in basketball (as was the case with most successful people at the time). And it was through this that he contracted the virus.
His wife and children were all HIV negative.
He promptly retured from the game. But because he was so good at it, he was voted back into the 1992 Olympic “Dream Team”, the 1992 All Star game and even helped the Western conference to a win. This didn’t come smoothly for him, his participation was met with strong criticism from teammates and opposing players who were still very ignorant about the disease and thought they could contract the virus by just being in touching distance with Magic.
This he all took in his stride and proved that success could come whatever the situation and condition. In the 1993 NBA season, he attempted a comeback which stopped before the season began. The heavy criticism from the NBA forced him back into retirement. That was the last time he played or attempted to play competitive basketball.
He however set up foundations and attended or lectured at seminars and conferences about his fight with the disease and ways of prevetion and managing it. His foundation has grown to accommodate opther charitable causes other than HIV/AIDS alone and he has advocated for cheaper AIDS drugs from GlaxoSmithKline, the pharmacuetical company whose anti AIDS drugs he fronts.
He has also worked with Doctor/ Physician Dr. Lynn Montana to help educate the world’s youth about the risks associated with HIV.
While I was at MTO I encountered what I think is the worst problem in the fight against AIDS. And it’s not stigma. It is IGNORANCE.
One would find it hard to believe that people in Uganda are more knowledgable about HIV/AIDS than people in the USA and other western countries. With the level of development and education, I would expect them to have been well versed with all to do with HIV/AIDS.
This article has a “chubby” Magic Johnson. And they ask how he does it… How he puts on weight?
The ignorance has led them to believe that HIV/AIDS makes the sufferer lose weight and appear frail. So when Magic Johnson is seen as “fat” and well rounded they wonder.
But this isn’t the eye catchng bit…when u scroll all the way to the end and read the comments is when u shall realise how bad it is. I want to believe that they are all just sarcastic comments, but all the readers can’t be that sarcastic. Good senses of humor belong to very few of us.
This will open your eyes.
Have a good day y’all
-Miss Cheri for Bloggers Against AIDS
