"כל ליצנותא אסורא בר מלצנותא דעבודה זרה" - One of today's Avoda Zaras is sports.
On November 7, 1991, basketball legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson stuns the world by announcing his sudden retirement from the Los Angeles Lakers, after testing positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. I still remember clearly when it came out!!! At the time, many Americans viewed AIDS as solely a gay white man’s disease. Johnson, who is black, looks quite male [although today biology and gender are according to many - unrelated] and identifies as heterosexual [not only does he identify that way - he actually lives that way], was one of the first sports stars to go public about his HIV-positive status. Since black lives matter - he did what he could to stay alive. And B"H he is still here!!!!
It turns out that one could get AIDS not only from homosexual contact but from heterosexual contact as well. As Johnson admitted - self control was not his strong point and on the road there were many young ladies who allowed him to express both his lack of self control and "deep love" he felt for them. Sadly, he had not attended Rabbi Moshe Weinberger's Yosef HaTzadik chaburahs. Had he done so and taken what he learned to heart - he would probably still be playing for the Lakers.
Revered [b/c prize athletes are "revered"!!!] as one of the greatest basketball players of all time [although Jordan was definitely better!!!], Johnson spent his entire 13-season NBA career with the Lakers, helping them to win five championships in the 1980s. His talent involved taking a piece of cowhide and putting it in a net in creative ways. In 1981, he signed a 25-year deal with the Lakers for $25 million, one of the NBA’s first over-the-top contracts. This shows that American culture values men in their underpants who are good with cowhides. He was a 6'9 point guard which made it kinda hard for opposing 6'1 point guards to guard him.
Johnson, a three-time NBA “Most Valuable Player” and 12-time All-Star team member, didn’t completely hang up his basketball shoes after announcing his retirement in 1991. Instead of hanging them up he put them neatly under his bed. He was voted most valuable player of the 1992 NBA All-Star Game and played on the Olympic “Dream Team” (called that b/c they were every other teams WORST dream. He played alongside Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Patrick Ewing - Bird being the token white so as not to anger the KKK guys) that won gold [worth about $12.00 in a pawn shop] for the U.S. in Barcelona that summer. He briefly returned to the Lakers for the 1993-94 season as head coach and made a short-lived comeback as a Lakers player in the 1995-96 season.
Today, Johnson is a prominent spokesman for AIDS awareness and a successful businessman, earning millions from a range of ventures, including movie theaters and restaurants. He serves as an example of how a variety of drug treatments have transformed AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition for many people in the U.S. and around the world. He is also an example of proper dental hygiene as evidenced by his white teeth. The question is - what does he do with all of his millions??? I should get his address and give it out to Roshei Yeshiva and Roshei Kollel so that they can give him the zchus of sharing with Bnei Torah. Torah is a HUGE segula for long life.
Some fast facts on AIDS:
- Approximately 1.2 million people in the U.S. have HIV. About 13 percent of them don’t know it and need testing.
- HIV continues to have a disproportionate impact on certain populations, particularly racial and ethnic minorities and gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men.
- In 2019, an estimated 34,800 new HIV infections occurred in the U.S.
- New HIV infections declined 8% from 37,800 in 2015 to 34,800 in 2019, after a period of general stability.
- In 2020, 30,635 people received an HIV diagnosis in the U.S. and 6 dependent areas—a 17% decrease from the prior year, likely due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV prevention, testing, and care-related services.
- HIV diagnoses are not evenly distributed across states and regions. The highest rates of new diagnoses continue to occur in the South.
- So only sleep with your spouse [of the opposite gender!!!!] and live in the North and you will hopefully avoid the illness.
