magic.

a moment of clarity.

words.

"Johnson’s businesses have thrived, and through his foundation he has donated millions of dollars, and thousands of hours of his time, to charities—including those in south Los Angeles. In 2008, Johnson worked tirelessly in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Proposition 8 in California, saying at the time that the same-sex marriage ban was “unfair and wrong…’ and that it … “singles out one group of Californians to be treated differently—including members of our family, our friends, and our coworkers.” Last year, his son Earvin Johnson III, known as E.J., announced that he was gay. Johnson and his wife Cookie (whom he married in 1991) offered public words of support (and did so in an interview on CNN and also from the biggest platform they could find: Oprah Winfrey’s couch). “I go to church,” Johnson said at the time. “I’m a Christian, but the reality is, my son is gay…. And I tell my pastors that, I tell other pastors that.… I love my son, nothing is going to change that. I don’t care if you don’t agree. If you don’t want to deal with me, or you don’t like me, that’s on you.”

Although it may seem callous to say so, millions of Americans are lucky that Magic Johnson was infected with H.I.V. There is no way of calculating how many lives he has saved. No advertising agency could have invented a better, or more effective, role model. So let us thank Donald Sterling for helping remind us what we owe Magic Johnson, for his contributions to a struggle that is still far from over. Thirty-five million people have died since the AIDS epidemic began. At least two million more are infected every year. The only people who should be ashamed about that are those who believe viruses make moral judgments and choose their victims accordingly. I don’t know how many Americans think that way, but one of them owns the Los Angeles Clippers."

THE NEW YORKER: How Magic Johnson Fought the AIDS Epidemic