Magic Johnson announced in 1991 that he was diagnosed with HIV, a disease that was frowned upon in the United States back in the day. For Johnson, breaking this news to his wife, family and teammates was the toughest task. When it came to his teammates, Johnson said, “It was the hardest thing that I’ve ever had to do because I’m walking away from my family.” 

This changed the lives of everyone around him. With that said, those around have actively spoken about this phase. While doing so, an ex-Lakers trainer had a rare revelation to make.

After Johnson’s announcement, naturally, many around him were part of the news cycle. Gary Vitti, an ex-Lakers trainer, was one of them. However, Vitti grabbed the attention of the masses when he treated Magic Johnson without gloves. This was deemed to be unacceptable back in the day because of the misconception at the time that HIV was contagious. In an interview, while talking about this, Vitti also spoke about Johnson’s mindset back in the day.

Gary Vitti on Magic Johnson

All Vitti wanted to do was destigmatize the negative narrative around Johnson’s diagnosis. However, Vitti’s move caused chaos. The league reprimanded him while the health commission launched an investigation. He said, “…I was on the firing line and I took a lot of criticism. And I got hate mail. I got hate mail and I got love mail on it.” 

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With that said, Vitti’s efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. The current NBA commissioner Adam Silver praised Vitti’s efforts to destigmatize HIV.

Supposedly, he sent Vitti a letter for the same. Vitti called this to be a career-defining moment. However, he doesn’t refrain from acknowledging that period as the roughest period of his life.

Having worked with the Los Angeles Lakers legend up close, Vitti gave the public an insight into Johnson’s frame of mind during this tumultuous time. According to Vitti, when Johnson was getting ready to break the news to his team, Johnson looked into Vitti’s eyes and said, “When God gave me this disease, he gave it to the right person.”   

Vitti added that Johnson always had a positive attitude as he believed that he was going to survive. Vitti admired his strength. However, Vitti recalled, “In my mind, I’m going, ‘He’s in denial. He’s gonna die.'” 

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