Students Shocked By Magic's Exit From Basketball

The Harvard community reacted yesterday with shock and sadness to basketball star Magic Johnson's announcement on Wednesday that he had tested positive for the AIDS virus HIV, and would retire from professional basketball.

Los Angeles Lakers fan Fidel A. Ovalle '92, who met the Lakers center two months ago on a plane trip, said he took Johnson's news as a personal loss.

"He was basically my childhood hero," said Ovalle. "As a kid, I watched him all the time and never missed a Laker game."

He said that Magic was one of a kind.

"There's no one like Magic on the court or off the court," Ovalle said.

Ovalle was hoping to see Johnson play in the 1992 Summer Olympics, he said, but that longtime dream of Johnson's will not be realized.

Not only Lakers fans expressed sadness that the NBA would lose one of its greats.

"I would be upset hearing about anyone getting AIDS, but it's so upsetting that it's Magic Johnson," said Rosanne Guerriero '93, a professed Celtics fan.

"I mean, when I think basketball, I think Magic Johnson and Larry Bird," she said.

Women's varsity basketball forward Deirdre K. McNamer '95, who wears Johnson's number, 32, said that she didn't think it was fair the way a career like Johnson's ended.

No Big Send-Off

"Magic won't have a grand blast-off like Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] did," McNamer said. "It was so sudden, and now he's finished."

Even those who said they do not follow basketball acknowledged that they felt the impact of Johnson's announcement.

"I'm not into basketball, but I was pretty shocked to hear he got it because I assume he's not gay since he's married," Karen E. Lee '92 said. "It's scary now to know that a heterosexual like myself can get AIDS."

Raising Awareness

Charles H. Weingarten, chief of medicine at University Health Services, said he hopes that Johnson's story will raise AIDS awareness among Harvard students.

"Students here all know about the AIDS issue, but they don't necessarily incorporate it into their own practice because they think somehow their health is protected," Weingarten said.

Johnson's promise to become a spokesperson for AIDS awareness could be a boon to the cause, he said.

"Hopefully, Johnson's story will break through the denial and make everyone realize that it can happen to them," he said.

"Of course, nothing can offset the tragedy for Magic or any other person who is affected," he said.