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November 7, 1991. Los Angeles. The phone call arrives early in the morning, "2 o'clock press conference, at the Forum," the Lakers' media relations official says. "Major announcement. About Magic."
"The Lakers have scheduled a press conference," a radio announcer says nervously. "The announcement has to do with Magic Johnson, who has been out of the lineup since last week in Utah. Magic could be out for a lot longer than anticipated."
Word arrives to the media that Johnson is ill. Very ill. He is only 32, a veteran of 12 seasons in the NBA, nine of which resulted in trips to the NBA finals, and five of those with NBA championships.
Early in the morning, Johnson telephones his best friends, one after another -- Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Michael Jordan and Pat Riley -- to tell them that he will have to retire, that he is HIV-positive, and that he wanted them to hear it from him, not from a news report.
Magic arrives at the Forum around noon. Dunleavy gathers all the Lakers in the dressing room before the press conference. Magic walks in, dressed in a suit and tie. He breaks the news that he must retire. Everyone breaks down.
The press room is quiet, tense, as Magic walks in. He is grim. He is followed by various Lakers officials. Magic walks to the podium. He bends his head and speaks into the microphone, announcing, "Because of the virus I have attained, I will have to retire from the Lakers."
The jam-packed room is motionless, stunned, numb. Tears well up in the eyes of many in the room. But there's not a tear a Johnson's eye.
Calm, upbeat and relaxed, Johnson tells reporters that he "will battle this deadly disease," that he will become a national spokesman about HIV because he wants young people to understand "that safe sex is the way to go. We sometimes think only gay people can get it, that it's not going to happen to me," he would say. "And here I am saying that it can happen to anybody, even me, Magic Johnson."
The question on many reporters' minds is how Magic contracted the disease, but he did not know. How long did he have to live, reporters ask. A few weeks? A few months?
"There is no immediate effect on his life, other than we have advised him to avoid activities which can further impair his immune system," Mellman would tell the press. Mellman says he told Johnson to retire because the rigors of pro basketball would weaken his physical condition and hasten the onset of AIDS.
Reporters wonder about Magic's wife, Cookie, and her pregnancy. Johnson confirms that she is OK, that the baby is OK, that neither of them tested HIV-positive.
Magic's positive demeanor brightens the gloom and doom in the room, at least to a certain degree. "This is not like my life is over because it's not," he tells the crowd. "I'm going to live on. Everything is still the same. I can work out. ... I'll just have to take medication and go on from there."
He smiles. He looks out toward the crammed room of reporters, fans, friends and teammates and says, "This is another challenge in my life. It's like your back is against the wall. And you have to come out swinging. And I'm swinging."
He shows absolutely no trace of self-pity. He tells reporters he still will be around to needle them. "I plan on going on, living for a long time, bugging you guys like I always have," he would say with another huge smile. "You'll see me around. I plan on being with the Lakers. ... Of course, I will miss the battles and the wars, and I will miss you guys. But life goes on."
While people in the crowd wipe away tears, the dry-eyed Johnson concludes the news conference by saying, "I'm going to go on. I'm going to beat this, and I'm going to have fun."