Legendary Los Angeles Lakers point guard Magic Johnson‘s Hall of Fame career saw him win an NCAA championship, Olympic Gold with the Dream Team, and five NBA titles.
And with all that, perhaps Johnson’s greatest victory has been over HIV — because his very public fight against the virus, a battle Johnson waged with resilience and dignity, changed the public perception of HIV and the lives of millions afflicted by it.
So it’s not just a run-of-the-mill-famous-athlete endorsement that Johnson delivered for Vice President Kamala Harris in her bid to defeat former President Donald Trump in November.
When Johnson, who understands a fight and what it takes to win, says of Harris “she’s ready,” there’s a little more cachet behind the assessment.
Magic Johnson: I am endorsing Kamala Harris. She’s ready. She can bring the country together. She’s fighting for women so they can have the right to choose. She’s working to bring down grocery prices. The plan she has for the country is wonderful pic.twitter.com/JUPWifIIsd
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) September 27, 2024
In an interview with the late night host — and Trump antagonist — Jimmy Kimmel, Johnson reveals that he has known Harris for decades and long supported her political career, first when she ran for Attorney General of California and later when she became one of California’s U.S. Senators.
“I raised a lot of money for her when she ran for Senator,” Johnson said, “and she’s ready.”
Johnson asserted “the plan she has for the country is wonderful,” a sentiment echoed by another major NBA persona, former Dallas Mavericks owner and billionaire Mark Cuban, who recently gave an interview full of enthusiasm about Harris’s approach to knowledge-based, open-minded governance for big business.
“Kamala, she knows what’s up,” Cuban said, about Harris’s friendliness to business needs. “She knows the deal.”
Unlike Trump, Mark Cuban is an actual successful businessman who didn’t inherit hundreds of millions of dollars from his father.
Listen to Markpic.twitter.com/0pBErVGWkq
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) September 26, 2024
[NOTE: Magic Johnson’s fellow 1980s-era sports figures who are supporting Harris’s opponent Trump include boxing icon Mike Tyson, MLB star Darryl Strawberry and NFL legend Lawrence Taylor.]
As exceptionally wealthy men — Johnson’s other winning attribute is business savvy; he is reportedly a billionaire — Cuban’s and Johnson’s support for Harris signals that they are not concerned, as Trump-supporting billionaires Elon Musk and Bill Ackman are, that Harris is a closet “socialist” looking to redistribute their wealth.