A Sad Second Farewell by Magic

Every Lakers fan must have a favorite memory of Earvin (Magic) Johnson in action. The few weeks of his now-ended return from retirement won’t dim those memories. If the career so abruptly ended by his announcement a year ago that he had tested positive for the AIDS virus required a ceremonial conclusion, his dazzling performance in last February’s All-Star Game and the collective high of the Dream Team’s Olympic victory are more than sufficient.

Those exultant moments may, of course, have made it even harder for Johnson to leave basketball. But leave it he has, and this time he says for good. And now? Finding a way to redeem the time that remains is a challenge that innumerable men and women have faced and somehow met. To be sure, few have had to meet it under the spotlight that has been trained on Magic Johnson, with all the turmoil that attends such attention.

Johnson tried very hard--first with countless public appearances, then by accepting appointment to the National AIDS Commission, from which he later resigned--to light the darkness, rather than curse it. But public fears about this still-mysterious disease remain widespread. People react to acquired immune deficiency syndrome not always with the cold precision of medical logic. When Johnson realized that he, too, like so many who have gone public, faced a paucity of acceptance by co-workers, he realized the comeback wasn’t going to work.

The city that cheered him as a basketball player honors him still as that greater wonder, a mortal man.