Magic Johnson (Derek White/Getty Photographs)

NBA legend Magic Johnson, who has HIV, confirmed a current story suggesting he donated blood to COVID-19
sufferers is “false.”

Sophia Tulp of the Related Press
reported Monday an image of Johnson having blood drawn from a 2012
documentary was taken out of context and repackaged by a satire
account to counsel it was a blood donation, which then went viral.

The same hoax made its method across the
web final 12 months.

The picture got here from the PBS documentary Endgame: AIDS in Black America, which included commentary from
Johnson about his retirement from the NBA following his HIV analysis
in 1991.

Johnson in the end returned to
basketball to assist Crew USA win a gold medal in males’s basketball at
the 1992 Summer time Olympics as a part of the Dream Crew, and he later made
a quick return to the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers in 1996.

In 2021, the Corridor of Fame level guard
mentioned the significance of his return to basketball with CBS’
Gayle King.

“It proved to be the best
determination,” Johnson stated. “It helped individuals who had been dwelling with
not simply HIV and AIDS, however with any illness, that you may reside on,
you might be—reside a productive life.”

The Michigan native, who’s now 63, was
one of many NBA’s most adorned gamers throughout his first stint with
the Lakers, highlighted by 5 championships, three MVP Awards and
12 All-Star alternatives from 1979 by 1991.

He is now a part-owner of a number of L.A.
sports activities franchises, together with MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers, the WNBA’s
Los Angeles Sparks and MLS’s LAFC.