The Announcement

Twenty years later it is still surreal. Earvin “Magic” Johnson, one of the most dynamic figures our culture has ever seen, was forced to retire after he contracted the HIV virus. He stood in front of the cameras, shared it with the world, and whether he believed it or not at the time, he told everyone he was going to beat it.

It was a Thursday afternoon in the fall, and I was a middle school kid with a world of aspirations like so many others. Lucky enough to grow up with a hoop and a driveway, I was hard at work on my game. I wanted to be Magic. I wanted to be Bird. And Nov. 7, 1991 was a day where my whole worldview changed.

The Announcement, the latest production from ESPN Films, takes us back to not just the day Magic Johnson held a dramatic late-afternoon press conference, but also brilliantly tracks the events leading up to that day and the aftermath as well. From revisiting the rise of Magic in the 1980s when Showtime and lavish, carefree partying went hand in hand in L.A., to many thinking he had been given a death sentence, director Nelson George does a tremendous job reestablishing that time.

Thanks to NBA Entertainment partnering on the project, the archival footage selected and paired with powerful interviews from the likes of Pat Riley, Lakers trainer Gary Vitti, agent Lon Rosen and Karl Malone, amongst others, takes us back to a place of tension and uncertainty.

When his news shocked the world, Magic, like any other human would have, fell into a period of depression and despair. As one of the world’s most charismatic public figures, he was now being looked at, treated and interacted with in a completely different fashion by many people who were once very close with him. But there were a special few, including his wife Cookie, Rosen and Riley, who played key roles in helping him “snap out of it” and begin to change the world as we know it.

Thanks to Magic and his courage, HIV and AIDS awareness found its way into thousands of schools across the country, and the education – starting with my generation – was forever changed. For the first time, necessary information reached many public schools, and was implemented into curriculums immediately.

From Riley working Magic out on the MSG floor before a Knicks game, to David Stern okaying his return to the court for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando, to Magic himself narrating the film, The Announcement reminds us all of the power people have to inspire one another. And at the same time, the film places the spotlight back on a virus that still needs to be talked about, even though it no longer dominates the headlines.