#3 – Magic Johnson
He shoots! He scores! Known as one of the best players in college basketball history at Michigan State, Earvin “Magic” Johnson was selected first overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers.
With five NBA championships, 12 All-Star Games, three MVP Awards and an Olympic Gold Medal, Johnson quickly became a basketball star and legend.
As HIV became more and more prominent in the late 1980s, many believed that the diagnosis only affected gay men. However, in 1991, as Magic Johnson announced that he was HIV positive, the world’s perspective changed.
Still in the prime of his NBA career, Johnson took the opportunity to become an advocate for HIV/AIDS awareness. A prime example for what medicine can do, Johnson’s treatment has gone so well that there are almost no symptoms of the virus and, astonishingly enough, his T-levels are almost the same as a normal person. Talk about a modern marvel in medicine!
#2 – Andrew Sullivan
Possibly one of the most intelligent people on our list, Andrew Sullivan is an incredibly well-educated man with a Bachelor of Arts from Oxford University as well as an M.P.A.
and a Ph.D. from Harvard. Widely known as a conservative political commentator, Sullivan is also an author and the former editor of The New Republic. Previously working with some of the biggest media platforms in the world including Time and The Atlantic, he has recently announced his retirement from blogging in 2015.
Openly gay and HIV positive for years, the native Brit had always dreamed of becoming a United States citizen but, because of his HIV-positive status, had always been denied. In 2011 after the ban on immigrants with HIV was lifted, Sullivan was granted citizenship and proudly showed off his Green Card on The Chris Matthews Show. Now living in Massachusetts with his husband, the 52-year-old appears healthy and happy as he openly discusses and advocates for gay rights and HIV awareness.
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