Premium Essay

Magic Johnson and Hiv

In:

Submitted By SEESER
Words 2022
Pages 9
Magic Johnson & HIV

Caesar Lozano
Human Sexuality
Mrs. Polites
December 3, 2012

What is HIV? HIV stands for human immunodeficiency virus, a retro virus that causes AIDS. Statistics indicate there are more than one million people living with HIV in the United States. HIV was discovered in June 1981. Since then approximately 1.7 million in the United States are estimated to have been infected with the virus. Every 9.5 minutes someone in the United States is being infected with HIV. How does HIV work? In order to survive, HIV must enter a healthy human cell and uses the cell’s machinery to make copies of itself. HIV attaches to the cell and uses a special chemical as a key to enter. Once inside, HIV uses a chemical called reverse transcriptase to disguise itself. Wearing this disguise, HIV is ready to sneak into the cell’s control center. Then HIV uses another chemical called integrase to gain access to cell’s control center. HIV then adds its own information into the cell’s machinery and starts making copies of itself. Another chemical, called protease, cuts out and puts together the new copies of the virus. Once the new virus leaves the cell, they are ready to find and attack more cells. Anyone is capable of contracting the virus. One person who stands out with the virus is Earvin Johnson but you may know him by another name, Magic Johnson. Earvin “Magic” Johnson is a retired American professional basketball player. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers. Johnson is a 5 time NBA champion, 3 time NBA finals MVP, 3 time NBA Most Valuable Player and has 12 NBA All-Star appearances. He was rated the greatest NBA point guard of all time by ESPN in 2007. Due to Johnson’s success he is highly remarked as an icon. All that changed when he announced he was diagnosed with HIV in November 1991 ending his 12 year NBA career. After a physical

Similar Documents

Premium Essay

Magic Johnson's Legacy

...Earvin “Magic” Johnson is a leader in basketball, business, and in education because he has changed many lives. Students, co-workers, and basketball players’ lives are changing in how we see HIV, how we see learning, and how we create a life for ourselves. In the late 1990’s early 2000’s, Magic Johnson created a legacy. His legacy was more information about HIV, a business, and students' education. In the United States of America, Magic impacted more charity creation because he has HIV himself. Earvin Johnson Jr. was born in Lansing, Michigan on August 14, 1959. Earvin “Magic” Johnson has nine brothers and sisters. Magic Johnson grew up in poverty. His father worked for the General Motors plant in town and his mother for the school custodian (“Magic Johnson Biography” A&E Bio). His parents are Earvin and Christine Johnson. Magic Johnson’s first nickname was “June bug” because he would jump from basketball court to basketball court ("Magic Johnson Biography" A&E Bio). Earvin Johnson gained his basketball nickname “Magic” when a sportswriter saw him score 36 points, 16...

Words: 1493 - Pages: 6

Premium Essay

Disciplining the Body

...Publishers, Inc. "Disciplining the Body": HIV-Positive Male Athletes, Media Surveillance,and the Policing of Sexuality Shari Lee Dworkin and Faye Linda Wachs University of Southern California This paper analyzes how mainstream print media polices sexuality through framings of HIV-positive male athletes. We analyze the HN-positive announcements of Magic Johnson, Greg Louganis, and Tommy Morrison. Specifically, we discuss differences between the framing of gay men (Louganis) and self-identifiedheterosexual men (Johnson and Morrison). First, there is an extensive search for the ways Magic Johnson and Tommy Morrison contracted HIVIAIDS. Media coverage emphasizes that "straights can get it too" through promiscuity and a "fast lane" lifestyle. Consistent with the historically automatic conflation of HIVIAIDS with gay identity, the media pose no inquiries into the cause of Louganis' HIV transmission. We close our discussion by focusing on the meaning of extending the signifier of HIVIAIDS beyond gay bodies to include working class and black male bodies. Media surveillance of sexual identity and the body reinforces hegemonic masculinity in sport while feeding into the current sexual hierarchy in U.S. culture. Cette Ctude porte sur la f a ~ o n les mCdias Ccrits surveillent et contr6lent la sexualit6 par dont le biais de leur traitement des athlktes masculins skro-positifs.Nous analysons les annonces de skro-positivitk concernant Magic Johnson, Greg Louganis et Tommy Morrison. Plus sp6cifiqiement...

Words: 10069 - Pages: 41

Premium Essay

Sportss

...The Total Package Shulanda Sullivan COM/170 Elements of University Composition and Communication February 12, 2015 Dawn Muhammad During the 1980’s, two of the most prominent players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) was Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Michael “MJ” Jordan. They were both exciting to watch while on and off of the basketball court. Because of their business savvy, humanitarian efforts, and outstanding athletic ability, both are very interesting. The Athlete Magic Johnson was an exciting athlete. He helped orchestrate the plays that where known as “Showtime” by sports commentators. During his time with the Los Angeles Lakers, Magic Johnson had his share of challenges (Larry Byrd and The Boston Celtics), however, he and his teammates won five NBA Championships. During his career Magic received three NBA Finals Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, three NBA MVP Awards, an Olympic gold medal, was named as one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, and is a two time inductee in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. Then there was Michael “MJ” Jordan, he began his NBA career with the Chicago Bulls. He swiftly began making his presence known to the NBA and the world. According to Biogrophy.com, Michael is the most decorated player of all time. Through his unbelievable slam dunks, outstanding scoring ability and his unmatchable acrobatic drives Michael became a cultural icon. Even though Michael was as great scorer, a NBA Championship eluded...

Words: 886 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Magic Johnson Research Paper

...Magic Born Earvin Johnson Jr. on August 14, 1959, in Lansing, Michigan. Earvin grw up with nine brothers and sister. Both parents worked, his father worked for the General Motors plant in town and his mother was a custodian. As a young man he was very passionate about basketball. He would start practicing as early as 7:30 am at Everett High School. Everyone wonders where he got the nickname “Magic” including myself; well after a sportswriter witnessed him score 36 points, 16 rebounds, and 16 assists in a single game he was granted the nickname “Magic”. Passion for Basketball After high school Magic Johnson had continued to play basketball for Michigan State University. He was a 6 foot 9 inches tall point guard, which was not a normal size for a point guard. He was a big help to the Spartans, helping them clinch the Big Ten Conference title only in his freshman year. The following year he had made a even bigger impression on the team leading them to the NCAA finals; They played against Indiana State Sycamores. This was the introduction of one of the most famous matchup, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson. People would say that this was the most watched NCAA Finals in history. Magic had left the Spartans just after 2 amazing years and took his talents to Los Angeles, California with the Los Angeles Lakers. Magic didn’t stop with all his spectacular...

Words: 667 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Oj Simpson Research Paper

...not played (Nagel 168). One of the most shocking events in the 90s’ may have been when Magic Johnson announced he had HIV (Stewart). No one knew what to think. Some people thought Magic was gay, or even a drug addict (Stewart). Magic denied those assumptions and said he got infected from heterosexual acts (Stewart). Being a super-star athlete infected with HIV ruined his image for many years as the public tried to come to terms with the disease in general. The 90’s were very eventful. In the 1990’s, sports were becoming more and more popular largely due to media coverage. There was a megastar in about every sport. There was Jordan, McGuire, Sosa, Sanders, Tiger and many more. Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa went head to head for the home run race in 1998. Mark McGuire won and ended up with 70 home runs (Nagel 170). Cal Ripken Jr. earned the “iron man” nickname (Nagel 169). Tiger Woods was taking the golf world by storm (Nagel 179). And of course, Michael Jordan became the best athlete of the 20th century (Nagel 171). Steroids were also an important factor in the 1990’s (Steven and Bechtel). The 90’s changed football. The NFL added new teams, stadiums, wild card games, and the coverage of the games expanded (Nagel 174). Most sports grew exponentially or had superstars dominate their sport during the 1990’s. There were a lot of changes in the 1990’s as a result of O.J. Simpson, Magic Johnson, and steroids. O.J. Simpson’s case was covered on television every day (History). That...

Words: 777 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Aids in the United States

...Cultural and Disease Paper AIDS in the United States There exist deadly diseases which continue to pollute the citizens of the United States. It is essential because each citizen must be enlightened of the circumstances to channel it and at this present time there is absolutely no solution to the problem. The epidemic I am conveying of is AIDS. AIDS does not at all show prejudice in addition to all to everyone is exposed to the disease. The Center for Disease Control in 1981 transferred out their report advertising abnormal deaths and outbreaks (Begley, etal, 2001). In March 1981 there existed about eight instances reported of a contentious form of Kapos’s Sarcomi arrived in New York. In the article it spoke about five homosexual men that had come down with an unusual parasitic lung infection called Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. About the same time there was an increase of Kaposi’s Sarcomi that was a rare form of benign cancer which was for the most part detected in older people. A while after the report outside of the Centers for Disease Control a task force was arranged in order to examine the abnormal increase of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and additional frequent life threatening opportunistic infections (AVERT, 2010). The New disease there was very little known about it, and it seems to be affecting the gay population. At first in the beginning it was a profuse belief around this disease that exist later explain inaccurate. A peculiar assumption was made in...

Words: 1189 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Magic Johnson More Than an Average Athlete

...admire from Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, Sean Carter (Jay-z), and Robert Johnson. Others who have influenced me in my development of a person were my parents; my mother and my father were there for everything I have done in my life. The person who I model myself after is Earvin Johnson jr. also known as Magic Johnson. There are many reasons why but all really point to him defeated in adversity in many facets of life. In my point of view my life and his has some similarities and differences. Other than for athletics, he has more to offer then the average retired player. I also liked how he showed strength in the face of gloom and trouble. Johnson was born in Lansing, Michigan and had many siblings (2). In addition, he lived with his mother and father, his mother was a school janitor, and his father was a worker for and General Motors (2). Like many young children named after their parents, he had gained the nickname of “Junior” or “June bug” (2). In my similarities to him I to have many siblings, though not at the amount of nine but it was a number of three with myself being the eldest. Another thing that is a true similarity is Junior also my nickname because; I have my Father’s name. Unlike Johnson, I did not have his basketball ability. As a young child, he will practice daily at seven thirty and dribble his basketball using opposite hands just to have great ball control(2). Although not as talented as Johnson, I treat my knowledge of sports as serious, while patterning many stats...

Words: 1173 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Ethnic Studies Relevance Paper

...Miriam Escamilla ES 101 22 May 2014 Discussion: Friday 10 A.M. Analysis of Article Donald Sterling There has been a recent racial conflict within the National Basketball Association, or NBA, that has risen due to the Clipper’s owner, or soon to be formal owner, Donald Sterling’s leaked racist remarks. In the article NBA Initiates Charge Against Donald Sterling, Setting Up Vote On Clippers Ownership, by Brian Mahoney, he discusses the penalties and possible outcomes that Sterling might face after his hearing. The debate in the article focuses primarily on if Sterling will or will not have to forcefully sell his team, all depending on the votes that will come from NBA owners. This racial incident relates to topics covered in Ethnic Studies dealing with the issue of people being “color blind”, benefits of white privilege, and also on African American stereotypes. The topic of color blindness is extremely relevant to this article because it proves that that way of thinking, or living does not exist. One of the racist remarks that Donald Sterling was recorded “saying to a female friend, V. Stiviano [was] not to bring blacks to Clipper games during their conversation that was recorded” (Mahoney 8). With this it could be seen that Sterling himself, along with everyone else, sees color as an identifier. Saying that someone does not see color would be a lying, since a person’s color is a big part that they are. In the movie The House We Live In, that was screened in lecture it...

Words: 895 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Man: Aids

...670 The HIV virus poses one of the biggest viral threats to human society today. It is contracted through bodily fluids such as blood and semen, and sometimes even saliva and tears. AIDS kills 100% of its victims and puts them through agony before they die. It has been a threat for about 15 years, and it is not going to stop now. In fact, AIDS is just getting started: It consumes more people each year. There is no known treatment for it either, only antibiotics to slow the reproduction of the virus. HIV is passed from one person to another by bodily fluids only. It is usually gotten through sexual intercourse or other intimate contact, through the exchanging of unsterilized intravenous needles, or by the contact of HIV-infected bodily fluids and an open wound. It cannot permeate though intact skin, hence it cannot be spread through informal contact. AIDS has not been found to travel in insects or tame animals. In pregnant women, the virus only infects the infant near or at the time of birth. The virus dies quickly without a host. AIDS (Acquired Immuno Difficiency Syndrome) weakens the body¹s immune system so it is sensitive to infection. The AIDS virus primarily attacks the T lymphocytes, which are a main part of the immune system. The virus is also incubated in cells called macrophages, where it is accidentally sent to other, healthy cells in the body like neurons and lymphatic cells. After HIV is contracted, the person...

Words: 620 - Pages: 3

Premium Essay

Entreprenerial Leadership

...born great, but achieved greatness through their business savvy and their resolute entrepreneurial spirit. The first entrepreneur is Oprah Winfrey. Oprah Winfrey revolutionized the talk show market with her unique and natural style and rose to become the host of the most watched daytime show on television, which at its height boasted 12 million viewers daily (Sellers, 2011). Her leadership ability and her business acumen make her an excellent example of a profit-oriented entrepreneur. The second entrepreneur is Ervin "Magic" Johnson. Mr. Johnson is renowned for his illustrious, 13-year career with the National Basketball Association, but he has redefined himself as a prominent businessman with the objective to revitalize and provide quality entertainment and services to neglected, urban communities in the United States (Burns, 2011) . As opposed to a business entrepreneur whose main objective is to reap financial rewards for his/her venture, Mr. Johnson uses his business as a major catalysts for positive change within the urban community. His mission and vision identify him as a social-responsibility oriented entrepreneur. Oprah Winfrey is one the most intriguing and innovative entrepreneurs of our time. Her formula, which also includes a solid business team and sound financial controls, has taken her company from a...

Words: 1829 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Infectious Disease

...1996-2014). Acute inflammation lasts only a few days, it is short-lived whereas chronic inflammation lasts longer; like weeks, months, and maybe even years. When the inflammatory process is involved in healing and repair it may cause tissue damage. Inflammation can play a role in many disorders; for example Alzheimer’s, asthma, diabetes, osteoporosis, and even HIV/AIDS. According to U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2012), “More than 1.1 million people living in the United States are infected with HIV and almost 1 in 6 are unaware of their infection.” Gay and bisexual men of all races are affected by HIV the most. Those are a couple of statistics to think about. HIV stand for human immunodeficiency virus. HIV hinders the body’s ability to fight the organisms that cause disease by harming the immune system. HIV is a sexually transmitted infection and it can also be spread by contact with infected blood or from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth, or breast-feeding (Mayo Clinic Staff, 1998-2014). This virus can lead to acquired immunodeficiency syndrome also known as AIDS, but it can take years before the HIV weakens the immune system to where the person has AIDS. AIDS is a disease that will never go away. Once a person has it, they have it for...

Words: 1018 - Pages: 5

Free Essay

Health

...SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES HCS/245 INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH AND DISEASE The article I have chosen to write about is sexually transmitted diseases. There are many types of sexually transmitted diseases in the world of today a couple of good examples that I will be writing about are bacterial vaginitis, chlamydia/gonorrhea, genital herpes, syphilis and the one that all this diseases can lead up to aids or Hiv. These sexually transmitted diseases are also known as Stds. Stds are infections that are transferred from one person to another through sexual contact. Stds can be transmitted during vaginal anal or oral sex. They can also be transmitted from an infected mother to her baby during pregnancy or childbirth. In the reading of the article I have discovered that there are more than thirty different sexually transmissible bacteria, viruses and parasites. If patients are diagnosed with a certain type of STD the physician is required to report the certain STD to the state health departments. Many states that discover or find an STD report the newly diagnosed cases so that the public can be aware of the problem. I dint know this but STD are a major public health challenging the United States. The major health center like the (CDC) center for disease control and prevention estimates that there are approximately nineteen million STD infections each year. This infections alone can cost the health care about sixteen point four billion dollars per year that just a lot, with all...

Words: 833 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

Michael Jord The Best Basketball Player

...There is a lot of controversy about who is the NBA’s greatest player. Now there has been thousands of basketball players in the NBA, but only a select few are honored to be known as one of the greats. Wilt Chamberlain, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and of course one of the most famous is Michael Jordan, they all share one thing; the love of the sport. Since sports have begun people always wonder who the best is. Everyone has different thoughts on who is the best, but the facts will show who really the greatest NBA basketball player is. Wilton Chamberlain was born August 21, 1936 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended high school at Overbook in Philli. He moved on to college level on a scholarship to the University of Kansas. He was drafted...

Words: 1154 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Aids Epidemic

...someone in the United States is infected with HIV. One out of five people don’t even know they been infected. The lives of millions of people have been affected by either AIDS or HIV; either they know someone that has it, or they are living with the disease themselves. AIDS is a worldwide issue that is still relevant to this day. With no viable cure, AIDS is as much of an epidemic in 2012 as it was in the early 80s, the public needs to become more aware and take proper preventative measures to protect themselves and others. June 5, 1981, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported of outbreaks of a sickness that had been unknown and resulted in unusual causes of death in the United States. Doctors reported a rare parasitic lung infection, Pneumocystics Carinii Pneumonia, which had been found in five men. This was the beginning of what we now all know as Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Since the start of AIDS and HIV, 25 million people have died worldwide. On the NCBI (2012) website, it states that AIDS has become the 6th leading cause of death amongst people ages 25-44 in the United States, and is the leading cause of death in African American women ages 25-34. AIDS is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus better known as HIV. Human Immunodeficiency Virus better known as HIV is a virus that attacks the T-cells in the immune system. In a healthy person, the immune system fights off viruses, but with the case of HIV, the virus attacks the immune system, which...

Words: 1624 - Pages: 7

Premium Essay

Safe Sex Advertising

...There are many reasons in which I chose this ad. One it talks about a topic many people who have family members, live with this type does as well as contracted from being rapped, being born with it or many other ways. Starting from the late 1980’s safe sex has been promoted and celebrities for examples Easy- E died from Aids and Magic Johnson Is living with HIV and many others have openly spoken of the dangers of this disease and unprotected sex. This ad is extremely offensive because the lady is lying on the bed smiling and saying opening herself to harm and danger is like a day at the spa. . This ad sends the wrong message to the younger generation. It says STD is funny or a laughing matter. It also says it's okay to sleep with multiple people or to open yourself up to 20 guys at a time. It makes fun of the man or women who are currently planning their love one funeral by saying use condoms so tiny in the corner to...

Words: 627 - Pages: 3