When the Game Was Ours - Larry Bird [113]
When Rosen called the insurance company to inquire why Johnson's results had been flagged, they were tightlipped.
"Is it safe for him to play?" Rosen asked.
"I can't discuss Mr. Johnson's results with you," the insurance man answered.
The response left Rosen skittish. The previous March a college star named Hank Gathers had collapsed and died while playing for Loyola Marymount. A subsequent autopsy found that Gathers had suffered from a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. What if the insurance company had detected a similar problem during Magic's tests?
"I need to know if it's safe for him to play," Rosen persisted. "If he drops dead like Hank Gathers, we'll sue."
"I'm sorry, sir," the insurance agent replied. "Mr. Johnson's results are confidential. We need that release."
As soon as he hung up the phone, Rosen contacted Magic's personal physician, Mellman, who was as perplexed as Rosen about the results.
"It could be anything," Mellman told him, "but every physical I've given him has shown that he's fine. He looks healthy to me. Let's wait and see."
Johnson flew to Paris unconcerned about what he dismissed as a minor clerical detail. On October 18, the Lakers trounced CSP Limoges 132–101, then beat Spain's Joventut Badalona 116–114 the next day. Rosen faxed a signed release to the insurance company from Paris, but they did not accept it as an official document.
"We need this done in person," the official explained.
Magic arrived back in Los Angeles on October 21 feeling jet-lagged and fatigued. The Lakers were scheduled to play an exhibition game against the Utah Jazz in Salt Lake City four days later, but Johnson was dragging and discussed skipping the trip with assistant GM Kupchak. His former teammate urged him to play. Although the Jazz game had sold out, there were still tickets remaining for the next game in Vancouver, and the Grizzlies would have no chance of a full house without Magic there.
"Besides, there are thousands of Utah fans that bought tickets to the game just to see you," Kupchak reminded him.
"All right, I'll go," Magic said. "But limit my minutes, okay? I'm beat."
Before he left for Salt Lake, a representative from the insurance company drove to his home and witnessed him signing the release form. Instead of overnighting the document via Federal Express, the representative inexplicably sent it via regular mail.
On the afternoon of October 25, shortly after he checked into the team hotel in Salt Lake City, Johnson received a phone call from Mellman, who had finally been mailed the results of his blood test.
"Earvin, you need to come back to Los Angeles immediately," Mellman said.
"I just landed in Utah," Johnson protested.
"This can't wait," Mellman said.
Rosen hastily arranged for Johnson to catch a Delta Airlines flight back to LA that landed at 5:30 P.M. He picked Magic up at the airport and drove him directly to Mellman's office. By then, Rosen feared the worst: cancer, a serious heart condition, a fatal disease.
Johnson was more curious than worried. A heart murmur maybe? Some kind of knee trouble?
"I'm a positive guy by nature," Magic said. "I wasn't thinking, 'Oh, no, something is really wrong.' I felt so good, I couldn't imagine I was sick."
But when Mellman finally opened the door and waved him into his office without any of his usual cheerfulness, Johnson quickly realized the news was dire.
The HIV-positive diagnosis was equally shocking and surprising. Magic did not initially react; he sat transfixed for a moment, as if he were intently watching a dramatic movie in which the plot was about to be revealed.
"Honestly, I think I was numb," he said.
Within seconds, he had a flood of questions: How did I get it? When did I get it? What does it mean? Am I going to die? What about my career? What about Cookie? The last question left him breathless. Only then did the scope of the somber diagnosis finally register with him.
"Oh, no," Magic said. "What about Cookie? She's pregnant."
Mellman recommended an additional blood test to make sure