The Announcement

The true measure of a man comes not when he is going through good times, but the way he responds when trials begin. That's what makes the book of Job so fascinating. That's what makes Jesus' example so powerful.

Earvin "Magic" Johnson is one of the greatest basketball players in history. They way he played the game was incredible. In a decade, he won five championships as defined the "Showtime" era for the Los Angeles Lakers. For a franchise that has been one of the league's best since its existence, Johnson is arguably the greatest player to have put on a Laker uniform.

But it wasn't his play on the court or his championship rings that defined the end of his career, it was what happened as a result of the way he lived off the court. Twenty years ago, Johnson stepped to the podium at the Great Western Forum and announced to the world that he had HIV. It was 1991, and HIV/Aids education wasn't what it was today. It seemed like a shock. It seemed like a tragedy. It seemed like a death sentence.

But on that day, Magic said he would beat it, we would see him soon, and his flashed his legendary smile.

Listening to Magic talk about that day, seeing the archival footage, and following the story of what he's achieved in the 20 years since, you can't help but be struck by the idea that, in a way, he did beat his diagnosis. He's still HIV positive, and yet he's still healthy. His story offers hope — not just to those struggling with the disease — but to those who are enduring hard times of their own.

In the movie "The Announcement," an ESPN films production that aired Sunday night, Magic openly talks about his life, his career, that harrowing day, and all that has followed. He doesn't make excuses, nor does he lay blame, rather he reflects on the poor decisions that took him down a road and the way he's tried to live his life in the 20 years since.

There is a point in the film where Karl Malone, a fellow basketball player who famously objected to sharing the court with Magic in the early 1990s, talks about Magic's example. He says Magic could have taken his family, bought a private island, and escaped. But he didn't, and the world is better for it.

There's truth in that. Johnson, one of the most famous athletes in the world, felt he had a duty to raise awareness, increase education, and share his story with the world. He didn't do it for himself, but rather to try and save lives. That's work he's continued for 20 years. He's lent his time, his celebrity, and his money to the cause of HIV/Aids research, and listening to his passion, it's clear he will continue that for the rest of his life.

Johnson's story could have been tragic. A great player, a great man, whose life and career were cut short by a disease. But Magic didn't want to live that story, so he fought to make a better one. It's a powerful and inspiring example of what can happen when we have the courage and hope to persevere through adversity.