The Announcement--ESPN

Anyone watch that last night? I found it riveting, even though I'm well-versed in everything Magic Johnson. One of my favorites.

I still remember exactly where I was when he announced his retirement. Sitting on the sofa in my living room, stunned and crying. I was 13. I read his book right after it came out a couple years later, but it apparently got lost somewhere along the way. Ordered it again this morning.

I thought Pat Riley was particularly insightful on the ESPN doc. Dude was straight-up depressed just talking about it.

 

I enjoyed it for the most part. The parts about how he found out and then having to tell his family were especially gripping. And yeah, Riley was great.

I thought the only mistake was having Magic narrate it. Dude can't read a script to save his life.

 

Yeah. That got a little awkward and choppy at times.

 

The fact that Magic is still around to narrate it, instead of a narrator doing it posthumously, made it work for me.

You know what got me? The part with the little girl crying because she just wanted to be 'normal.' And at the very end, right before the credits, there she is as a gorgeous adult devoted to HIV/AIDS causes. Fantastic detail.

It always surprised that there was never another HIV announcement in the NBA; you'd see the same nasty talent circulating around the players all the time, same women over and over, how is possible that Magic was the only unlucky victim? None of those guys--none of them today--cared about safety.

 

I have always been surprised at the apparent lack of number of HIV/AIDS cases among pro athletes, given the atmosphere.

 

Who do we know of?

Alan Wiggins (gay)
Magic Johnson
Roberto Alomar (rumored gay)
Greg Louganis (gay)
Tommy Morrison
Arthur Ashe

 

Tim Richmond — NASCAR driver
Glenn Burke — Dodgers/A's outfielder in the 1970s; probably the first publicly known gay male pro athlete
Roy Simmons (who's still alive) — Redskins lineman in the early 80s

 

Is there any fine print in the collective bargaining agreements Post-Magic about announcing this medical condition?

 

Thanks. I knew there was someone I was forgetting. It was Burke. The other two I probably heard about, but didn't remember at all.

 

Good stuff. Loved the flick, thought it was well-done. Found it interesting Riley worked him out at Madison Square Garden, and that Magic told Simmons he would have actually considered going to the Knicks to play.

And speaking of that young girl, 21, agree completely. Totally got me. And here's something pretty cool: http://hellobeautiful.com/special-features/30-under-30/ldavenport/30-under-30-hydeia-broadbent/

 

NTTAWWT, but I don't think Wiggins was gay. He was a intravenous drug user.

By the way, his daughter, Candace, was an All-American at Stanford and plays in the WNBA.

 

That's right. I knew he was high-risk. For some reason, I was thinking that he was gay.