Magic Johnson Addresses Rumor He Recently Donated Blood

Published|Updated

Magic Johnson has been in the middle of an internet rumor suggesting that he recently donated blood. On Tuesday afternoon, the NBA legend felt it was time he addressed the situation.

If you've been on Twitter the past few days you've probably seen a photo of Johnson having his blood drawn. The photo is a still from the 2012 PBS documentary called 'Endgame: AIDS in Black America' that shows Johnson having his blood drawn.

Johnson tested positive for HIV in 1991.







“Earlier today, NBA legend Magic Johnson donated some of his blood to the Red Cross to help underprivileged communities help fight COVID-19,” a tweet with the image falsely claimed last week. That specific tweet had over 25,000 shares on Thursday, but has since been deleted.

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The Red Cross does not accept blood donations from anyone who has ever tested positive for HIV and screens all donations for the virus.

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Mark covers all sports at OutKick while keeping a close eye on the world of professional golf. He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga before earning his master's degree in journalism from the University of Tennessee. He somehow survived living in Knoxville despite ‘Rocky Top’ being his least favorite song ever written. Before joining OutKick, he wrote for various outlets including SB Nation, The Spun, and BroBible. Mark was also a writer for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate in 2016 when the team won the World Series. He's still waiting for his championship ring to arrive. Follow him on Twitter @itismarkharris.