Isiah Thomas 'Hurt' that Magic Johnson Would Get Upset About Having his Sexuality Questioned

Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas used to be such good friends they exchanged kisses on the cheek when the Lakers met the Pistons in the 1988 NBA Final, but in a new book due to be released November 4 Johnson admits that there's been bad blood between the two since...

By Kyle Munzenrieder

October 22, 2009

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "19274298",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17482312",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18711090",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17482310",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18711090",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17482313",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas used to be such good friends they exchanged kisses on the cheek when the Lakers met the Pistons in the 1988 NBA Final, but in a new book due to be released November 4 Johnson admits that there's been bad blood between the two since the early 1990s.

In "When The Game Was Ours", a book chronicling the Lakers-Celtics-Pistons rivalry that dominated the NBA in the pre-Jordan era co-written by Johnson, Larry Bird and sportswriter Jackie MacMullan, Johnson claims the grudge first came to fruition when he was diagnosed with HIV and Thomas began questioning his sexuality.

"Isiah kept questioning people about it. I couldn't believe that. The one guy I thought I could count on had all these doubts. It was like he kicked me in the stomach," writes Johnson.

He also writes that he didn't help Thomas's chances of getting on the 1992 Olympics Team.

"Isiah killed his own chances when it came to the Olympics. Nobody on that team wanted to play with him. ... Michael didn't want to play with him. Scottie wanted no part of him. Bird wasn't pushing for him. Karl Malone didn't want him. Who was saying, 'We need this guy?' Nobody.''

Thomas, current head coach for the FIU Golden Panthers told Sports Illustrated that he's hurt by the revelations.

"I'm really hurt, and I really feel taken advantage of for all these years. I'm totally blindsided by this. Every time that I've seen Magic, he has been friendly with me. Whenever he came to a Knick game, he was standing in the tunnel [to the locker room] with me. He and [Knicks assistant coach] Herb [Williams] and I, we would go out to dinner in New York. I didn't know he felt this way," he told SI.

Well, Thomas shouldn't be completely blindsided. Johnson helped Thomas score his job with the Knicks, and after that turned disastrous Johnson publicly said he wouldn't make the same mistake of helping Thomas score another gig again. Though, apparently a dis-endorsement by one of the greatest players of all time doesn't hold much sway at FIU.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Miami, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.