My favorite sports memories:
•Los Angeles Dodger Kirk Gibson coming off the bench to hit the winning home run in Game One of the 1988 World Series.
•A young, unknown pitcher by the name of Orel Hershiser going the distance to secure the World Series for the 1983 Los Angeles Dodgers.
•Diver Greg Louganis hitting his head in the qualifying rounds of the three meter springboard competition to come back and sweep the men’s diving competition in the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.
Of all three, the last sparks a bittersweet tune in my heart. He was a folk hero to me. He is half-Samoan, as I am, and he is also an American legend; a troubled kid who did good.
As a child, Louganis exemplified the greatest of athletes. His chiseled body, lined up against the deep blue waters of an Olympic pool equaled perfection. Louganis meant perfection, first in 1984 and then again in ‘88.
No one knew or even cared if he was a homosexual and HIV positive. All that mattered was that he was representing America. Last week, Louganis revealed on “20/20” that he has AIDS and tested HIV positive before the ‘88 Olympics.
He gallantly decided to participate in the games. Unfortunately, he was not aware that he would hit his head on the edge of the springboard causing him to bleed. This did occur and he was overcome by fear.
Louganis decided not to reveal his condition to his fellow competitors nor to the two doctors who stitched him up after the accident. He went on to beat his younger competition and win two more Olympic Gold Medals.
Now, some people are making an issue out of the fact Louganis bled into the pool after hitting his head. They mock him rather than appreciate the greatest diver ever. Some criticize him for not revealing his HIV status and therefore possibly exposing the other competitors to his infection.
Although the International Olympic Committee and FINA (International Amateur Swimming Federation) said the amount of blood exposed to the chlorinated Chamsil Pool posed no threat, some still criticize Louganis because he might have exposed the two attending physicians, who did not use gloves, to the disease.
Unless those people complaining are the doctors who have tested negative for HIV, then the Louganis incident has nothing to do with them.
So what’s the big deal? The only person dying from his blood is Louganis himself. What really counts is that he is a model of how a person can live with HIV and AIDS.
So why is everyone making a big deal about him not revealing that he had AIDS sooner? As I was walking to class Tuesday, a friend of mine mentioned that Louganis should have told the world. According to him, the media was glorifying Louganis by letting him speak and appear on various shows.
No one is glorifying him. All anyone is doing is telling the story of thousands of Americans dying of AIDS. If people like my friend do not want to listen to them, then tune out.
I even heard another friend was upset that Louganis had never told the attending physician that he had HIV. I could have just imagined that scene. Louganis turning to the camera and saying “I am HIV positive.”
In 1988, this probably would have caused him to be banned from diving and the greatest diver ever would have suffered an earlier death by the media—a public death.
Thousands of Americans are walking around HIV positive and not aware of their condition. Louganis, on the other hand, is brave enough to acknowledge his disease.
On “20/20” Louganis said he decided to reveal his condition because so many people think AIDS does not effect them. His story proves that AIDS effects everyone. Stop arguing and start educating yourself. People have AIDS. They are living with it and, as Louganis has proved, they can survive with it.
