Earleatha "Cookie" Johnson
After receiving the news of his HIV positive status, Magic Johnson feared having to tell his wife of less than a year who was carrying their first child. This would inevitably confirm Magic’s infidelity that Cookie presumed were taking place but wanted to remain blind to, “It’s not that I thought he was a saint. But I didn't know what was happening and I preferred it that way”(Weinraub 1996). However, Cookie showed her loyalty and love for Magic through her adamant decision to stay by his side, “I told her I would understand completely if she wanted to leave. I couldn’t even get the words out of my mouth before she slapped me” (Randolph 1992).
After letting the news set in throughout the first week of emotional chaos, Cookie began looking into the future instead of holding onto the past. She contacted doctors to determine the best steps to maintain Magic’s health. She began investing a great deal of time in creating the healthiest lifestyle including diet regimens and workouts to strengthen and support his immune system. She also took a dive in the research realm to push for drug advances (Weinraub 1996). Cookie truly immersed herself in the AIDS activist role not only to care for Magic but also to help others going through similar experiences. She focused a great deal of attention on education and prevention in younger populations like those between first and twelfth grade, and women (Weinraub 1996). Cookie not only changed her life focus for Magic but was supportive in his attempts to return to the NBA even if it was not preferable for her because it meant so much to her husband, "I could see in his eyes that he really wanted to go back to the Lakers, and I felt like, you know what, if he really needs to do it, let's just go back to it" (Randolph 1992). She attended nearly every home game but stayed home to care for their children while he was on the road (Randolph 1992). While many people would have understood if Cookie left, including Johnson, the thought never seemed to cross her mind, “I love him very much and I always have. We’ve been together off and on for 14 years and the love that we’ve build up over that time period is what I hold on to. There’s no way—even though something like this happened—that I was going to just throw it all away and not stand by him and leave him to deal with it by himself. There’s no way I would do that” (Randolph 1992). Magic reflects back during an interview of how her unquestionable support gave him strength, “She went through everything with me—the games, the pain, the playoffs—and I’d never really let that happen before. She helped me so much” . . . “Between God and her, they give me the strength to carry on” (Randolph 1992). As the first individual Magic admitted his life changing news to, Cookie’s reaction of support and love strengthened Magic and calmed many fears he had about admitting his HIV status to others. Cookie became his rock and support system mentally and socially through her overwhelming openness to dedicate her life towards AIDS. Without this initial positive reaction I doubt Magic would have had the same strength and poise he did during his announcement. |