Celebrities Continue a Serious Fight by Playing a Game

The shot heard ‘round the world was the one fired last November by Magic Johnson, puncturing a society’s misconception that AIDS and HIV were deadly letters only other people received.

The shots taken Saturday night inside UC Irvine’s Bren Center were intended to serve as small reminders.

“Hoops For Health” was a charity basketball game that brought together football players, old basketball players, actors, entertainers, rappers and rockers for a common cause: to raise some money for AIDS research and raise awareness about a human crisis that hasn’t dissipated simply because Magic is now warming up for Barcelona.

It was a nice try, but in this economy, with scant pre-publicity, money got routed by awareness. Fewer than 300 turned up for the event, so it was up to the participants to disprove the notion that money is the only thing that talks.

So talk they did.

“People are still taking AIDS for granted,” Laker Sam Perkins said. “Some people feel there’s nothing they can do about it. It’s like, ‘If they get, they get it.’

“It’s just so unhealthy to think that way. There are things you can do to protect yourself and it’s important that we keep fighting to find a cure. That’s why we’re here tonight. Because as they project, a whole lot of people are going to be infected in the years to come. People like you and people like me.”

Nearly eight months after the fact, Magic Johnson remains the point man in the crusade. “Hoops For Health” and its beneficiary, the SEARCH Alliance research group, wanted Magic on the marquee Saturday--that would have taken care of the attendance problem--but Magic had a scheduling conflict. Still, his name was on the lips of everyone in uniform, from the bass player for the Red Hot Chili Peppers to the tailback for Chuck Knox’s Rams.

“Most people don’t have the guts to talk about the things Magic Johnson did,” said the Chili Pepper they call Flea, sans guitar for one evening.

“Obviously, there are still a lot of prejudices out there about AIDS--that it only happens to homosexuals or junkies. Magic Johnson showed us that’s not true . . . Magic Johnson woke up the heterosexual community and that’s good. Awareness is getting better because people are very scared right now.”

Chris Demetral, the 15-year-old cast member of the HBO series “Dream On,” said: “Magic probably did more good in one day to help the cause than everybody else did in one year. When Magic made his announcement, the kids in my school were more than sad. They were in a state of disbelief.

“Some of my friends are still interested in doing things with their girlfriends. I tell them it’s not worth it. Condoms break. The only way to make sure you don’t get AIDS is not to do it, unfortunately, until they find a cure.”

Yes, Magic has done a world of good, but Robert Delpino of the Rams believes the price paid for the announcement was far too steep.

“Since that happened,” Delpino said, “it’s been my experience that everybody I talk with--and I mean teammates, the public, businessmen, entertainers--are much more aware. But, to me, it’s sad that all this awareness had to come at the expense of a great man.

“Just because ‘Magic Johnson got it.’ Just think if he didn’t get it. Awareness would be down to here (Delpino holds a hand a foot above the floor). I know Magic and he’s always been a giving guy, a great person. It’s too bad he was the one it had to happen to.”

But Magic has helped to change lifestyles. Maybe not all, maybe not enough, but his example has shifted the after-hours habits of a good many professional athletes out of the fast lane.

“Most definitely,” said Ram cornerback Todd Lyght. “I was just coming out of college at the time. I dated a couple of women (at Notre Dame) and L.A. is a very fast city, so I decided to keep a low profile. I keep a pretty tight circle now.”

Delpino: “Speaking for myself, I wasn’t worried about it. I’ve been dating the same girl for the last three years. But I’ve seen other guys on our team change their attitudes and their actions. I remember the day (the Johnson announcement) happened. Guys were crying, nobody wanted to even practice. It was that much of a shock, and it changed some people.”

These are worthwhile words, but hard cash is needed to propel the drive toward a cure. That was Job One for “Hoops For Health” and 4,700 empty seats said the job went unfinished.

“Unfortunately, attendance was really low,” said event organizer Karin Londgren, trying hard not to appear discouraged. “But that was the only thing missing from the event.

“We didn’t have the budget to advertise much. With the economy the way it is, coupled with the L.A. riots, corporations weren’t eager to get involved. But we want to try this again next year and by then, it’ll be a whole different situation. The economy has got to get better by then.”

Saturday, then, was to spread the word. The cause is critical and the quality of basketball . . . well, it’s easy to be critical.

Still, how many times in life does one get the chance to watch Flea dish to the guy who plays Bigfoot on “Harry and the Hendersons” for an out-and-out monster jam?

“We’ll be back,” Londgren promised. “Next year, you probably won’t even recognize it.

“There will be people here.”