Monday, November 25, 2013
Magic Johnson-The announcement-Corey Krupa
Magic Johnson was one of the greatest players of all-time in a great era of basketball until he received life altering news that he was HIV positive. Many sports fans especially young children idolize athletes and perceive them to be invincible. Back in 1991, the world found out in an emotional press conference that one of the greatest athletes had HIV. Imagine if an NBA superstar like Kobe Bryant or LeBron James announced to the entire world that they had such a serious disease. Athletes deal with injuries all of the time but it is usually never as serious as a disease like HIV. What made it worse for Magic is that he contracted it sexually from someone that was not his wife and that the entire world knew about his personal life. Because of this heartbreaking news, he had to retire prematurely from a game that he was so good at and loved. However, more than 20 years later Magic is still alive and still in great health. He is a very successful businessman, analyst, and even part owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Even though he has a serious condition like HIV, it should not take away from his legacy as one of the greatest players ever for one of the most successful franchises ever. He helped make the Los Angeles Lakers a household name in the 1980s with his classic rivalry with Larry Bird. He is still beloved in the city of Los Angeles and still well known throughout the world. His announcement helped raise awareness towards prevention from HIV. He has achieved a lot on court, but one could argue that he has achieved just as much off the court.
-Corey Krupa
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Corey lays out Magic Johnson's great influence on the game of basketball very well. To think about someone like Lebron or Kobe getting such a disease now in our day puts Magic Johnson's situation into prospective. My only question about Magic Johnson is what has he done to stop Aids and the HIV virus. Not as much as some people might think. Sure he has helped Urban areas by putting a few Movie theaters in for those to enjoy (theaters which he makes money off of). So what about stopping a virus that ended his career and many other people lives. Sometimes you have to realize the responsibility of your actions. He did go around talking about his virus but talk is cheap. Instead Johnson is healthy, rich and announcing basketball games. I do not have all the answers but something is not right about his situation.
ReplyDeleteJay Clark
Corey--
ReplyDeleteMagic Johnson was one of the greatest basketball players on earth during his prime. If he had continued to play out his career he could even be considered the greatest of all time. At 6 feet 9 inches, he was the most versatile basketball player that had won 5 NBA Championships and 3 MVPs. Ending the career of a player that talented must have shocked the world especially because HIV/AIDS was a very unknown disease back then. However, I believe that he has made the most of his life and provided much needed awareness for HIV/AIDS. He is an example of an individual who didn't let bad decisions cripple his life and ruin him. He faced his problems head on and was determined to remain successful as a business man, mentor, and father. Magic Johnson made poor decisions in his life, but he fought through the adversity and remained positive every step of the way. People who face life altering challenges in life should look to Magic for inspiration that you can make the most out of life even when faced with difficult circumstances.
Brian Kochheiser
Corey,
ReplyDeleteYou bring up Magic's influence on the game of basketball very well. It is interesting the point you brought up about what if Kobe or Lebron possibly getting a disease. I never really thought about that in that way before, and it brings up a new discussion. If Kobe or Lebron were to contract a disease the way Magic did, would it be looked upon differently? I think it would, especially if they did it the same way Magic did and not contract it from your wife/romantic partner. Now and days athletes private lives aren't so private. For example the Tiger Woods incident that happened awhile back. That can be an example of how media can blow things more out of promotion than it needs to be, and that back in Magic's time was hard. The reason for that is because Magic's reign on the court ended from the disease as the rise in technology was accruing. The disease was an unknown factor back then, and there was hardly enough information out there about it. I think Magic can be used as an example to other people who have had life altering challenges, and I believe some can look towards him for inspiration as to what he has overcome.
Tyler Crellin
Corey,
ReplyDeleteI remember when Kobe Bryant was involved in scandal when he was accused of raping this girl in Colorado. Even though it's not the equivalent of Magic Johnson's case he did go through a lot of scrutiny, a lot of people disappointed and let down that an icon like that could mess up. I think Kobe behaved himself real well throughout the process always saying how sorry he was and making sure that he put his family first. There a lot of people who shy'd away from Kobe Bryant because of that. He lost a lot of endorsements, the respect of his teammates and I believe that contributed to the breaking up with Shaq, Phil Jackson and that whole Laker dynasty. Since then Kobe has grown and mature and has also moved on from that situation.. He has regained most if not all of his endorsements along with the trust of the people that supported him along with the fans. Sure there are people that will never forgive him for what he did just like I, sure there are people that haven't forgiven Magic Johnson. What this shows is that you can always turn so,etching negative around and make it positive no matter the situations. It all depends on how you go about things. So we don't need to imagine if Kobe Bryant was to go through the same thing because he did. It was t to the same magnitude but both athletes needed one thing and that's to rebuild their image which both have successfully accomplished in my opinion.
Jude Adjei