Johnson also comments on racism controversy surrounding the L.A. Clippers owner, saying, 'Now I am caught in the middle of this love affair or whatever they had.'
- May 14, 2014
AceShowbiz - Magic Johnson has responded to Donald Sterling's controversial statement about him catching HIV which he made in an interview with Anderson Cooper aired on Monday, May 12. In his own interview with CNN, aired on Tuesday, the former basketball star said he was sorry for Sterling. Calling the L.A. Clippers owner's interview "disturbing," Johnson added, "It's sad. It really is. I'm going to pray for this ... man."
"I came out like a man, you know, I told the world. I didn't blame nobody else. I understood that what I did was wrong," Johnson said of catching HIV. "OK, so I announced that to the world, and I hoped that I was able to help people in doing that, and I think I did."
Sterling previously also questioned Johnson's character and said that he did nothing to help others. In response to the remarks, Johnson explained, "My whole life is devoted to urban America. So, you know I just wish he knew the facts when he's talking. But he's a man who's upset and he's reaching. He's reaching. He's trying to find something that he can grab on to help him save his team. And it's not going to happen."
Johnson was in the spotlight following an argument between Sterling and his girlfriend V. Stiviano in which he told her not to associate herself with African-American people. In the Tuesday interview, Johnson told Cooper that he did not know Sterling or Stiviano well. "I don't know the young lady. I barely know Donald, so now I am caught in the middle of this love affair or whatever they had," he told Cooper.
Johnson is still waiting for Sterling's apology for dragging his name into his personal issue. "What's really sad is, it's not about me," the 52-year-old star said. "This is about the woman you love outing you and taping you and putting your conversation out here for everybody to know. ... This is between you two, but then he wants to include me."
