Tuesday marked the 29th anniversary of the passing of Arthur Ashe from complications from AIDS. One of the sad ironies is that he was offered and was going to accept head women’s tennis coaching job at Fordham when he found out and informed then athletic director Frank McLaughlin that he had to pass on the role. I was lucky enough to have met Arthur a few times when he was on campus, and it would have been amazing to have worked with him. He was a person of grace and leadership that would have directly influenced the course of millions, even more than his foundation has in the years since.
Ironically my days working at Fordham brought me in contact for a brief period with two of the most famous cases of HIV and athletics crossing paths. Magic Johnson visited the campus and met with the men’s basketball team less than a year before his diagnosis (as part of a Converse outreach), and not much before Arthur Ashe’s announcement.
Perhaps in the athletic world, no two men have had a greater impact on creating a better understanding and a support system for HIV than Ashe and Johnson, one in his passing and one in the role he has taken in living with the disease since his announcement. While Ashe’s legacy moved along and continues to grow, Johnson’s career has spanned well beyond the borders of sport, and has created millions of dollars in opportunities for people around the globe to live better lives. In a perfect world, these two men would have created living legacies in business and humanitarian efforts while being free of HIV, but as we all know we do not live in a perfect world.
The shock of Magic Johnson’s announcement still stings many, and the understanding and acceptance of HIV is an ongoing process in sport. What is accepted is that both lives are ones to be admired and emulated for making the most and turning negativity into a positive experience while learning from the past. Yes both were amazingly gifted people before their announcements, Ashe in retirement but still thriving and learning in so many ways, Johnson at the peak of his NBA career. However what came afterward were legacy gifts to the business community and to the community of sport, that few could have ever imagined possible, and for that we are very grateful, even as we pause to remember the shock of the words that echoed around both over two decades ago.
We have learned lots in that time from Magic Johnson on so many fronts, and he continues to let do so well into the future as his business and philanthropic endeavors continue to break down borders and stereotypes around the world. Arthur Ashe’s lessons were poignant in the way he lived and the care the places that bear his name today still emulate. In a world of loud shouting and chaos, both are examples of how to use adversity and challenges as a positive, and most importantly, live every day looking to do a little more to move the ball up the hill.
Thanks to both. And now back to the business at hand.
