Eventually, the constant controversy surrounding Johnson returning to basketball after his retirement began to wear him down. Johnson said that all the criticism was beginning to take away from the fun of the sport and the message he was trying to send about being able to live a normal life with HIV (Berkow). Many people living with AIDS saw Johnson as a role model, someone who could break down a lot of the stereotypes surrounding the virus. Instead, Johnson was retiring for a second time, giving into the prejudices that he had originally set out to fight. Johnson’s supporters felt that by leaving, he was legitimizing all of the irrational fears that were forever present in the public sphere (Schmalz). All of these supporters wanted Johnson to prove to the world that you could still live a normal life with HIV and that it was in no way a contagious disease.
Another critique came from the community saying that, Magic Johnson was no hero. He is famous, and he announced that he had HIV, but some people argued that that doesn't make him someone to look up to. He was living the fast life and he "finally got caught for speeding." Johnson was praised for coming forward and announcing that he had the virus, but he had no choice. People would have discovered the reason for one of the world's best basketball players suddenly retiring. Johnson was also critiqued for sleeping with so many women even when he was engaged to his future wife, Cookie. Johnson announced his diagnosis only 2 months after they had been married (Anderson).
Magic Johnson faced a lot of criticism for continuing to play basketball even after he contracted HIV. However, Johnson continued to play exhibition games with a team that he formed after his retirement, and never once infected anyone while playing. He became a testament to the fact that you can still live a normal life with AIDS, it can be contracted if you are heterosexual or homosexual, and it is not contagious. Many players continued to fear what might happen to them if they played with Johnson, but little was known about how the disease spread at the time, and even the one in a million chance of something happening was enough to convince players that playing with Johnson was not worth it. Today, athletes are not required to let anyone know that they are HIV positive, but there are stricter rules about players leaving the court when they are bleeding, and using gloves to treat injuries. While some of these rules may have come to be out of fear of the virus, there was also a peak in awareness, and finally, the country was listening to the pleas of those with AIDS. Testing, research, and support started to surround the disease, not just stereotypes.
Another critique came from the community saying that, Magic Johnson was no hero. He is famous, and he announced that he had HIV, but some people argued that that doesn't make him someone to look up to. He was living the fast life and he "finally got caught for speeding." Johnson was praised for coming forward and announcing that he had the virus, but he had no choice. People would have discovered the reason for one of the world's best basketball players suddenly retiring. Johnson was also critiqued for sleeping with so many women even when he was engaged to his future wife, Cookie. Johnson announced his diagnosis only 2 months after they had been married (Anderson).
Magic Johnson faced a lot of criticism for continuing to play basketball even after he contracted HIV. However, Johnson continued to play exhibition games with a team that he formed after his retirement, and never once infected anyone while playing. He became a testament to the fact that you can still live a normal life with AIDS, it can be contracted if you are heterosexual or homosexual, and it is not contagious. Many players continued to fear what might happen to them if they played with Johnson, but little was known about how the disease spread at the time, and even the one in a million chance of something happening was enough to convince players that playing with Johnson was not worth it. Today, athletes are not required to let anyone know that they are HIV positive, but there are stricter rules about players leaving the court when they are bleeding, and using gloves to treat injuries. While some of these rules may have come to be out of fear of the virus, there was also a peak in awareness, and finally, the country was listening to the pleas of those with AIDS. Testing, research, and support started to surround the disease, not just stereotypes.