Magic Johnson Says He Still Gets Nervous When He Sees A Police Car
Even though Magic Johnson is a five-time NBA champion and an extremely successful businessman, he said he still gets worried when he sees police officers.
In a wide-ranging conversation with California Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters as part of the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference on Monday, Johnson talked about what goes through his mind in those situations.
"I'm Magic Johnson, I'm Earvin Johnson, it didn't matter," he said. When I see a police car, I still get nervous and I have to do everything the right way to make sure, first, I don't get pulled over, second, if I do get pulled over, my hands are on the steering wheel. I'm going to abide by the commands, and I'm going to try to do everything the right way. Any instructions that they give me, I'm going to make sure I comply with those instructions."
Johnson added that parents should make sure to talk to their children about how to act around police officers to ensure their safety.
"I just hope that one day we don't have to have these conversations about people disrespecting the Black community," he said. "And that we can just live free and we don't have to be scared about the moves that we make or our actions or just being here as a Black man or a Black women.
Johnson also threw his support behind the peaceful protests that have happened since George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man, died after a white police officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes in Minnesota in May.
"I'm really just mad that we have to sit here and see so many unarmed young Black men and women getting killed and also, too, that they tried to say that through the protests that we were vandalizing,” he said. "In the beginning, yes, there was some of that, but at the end, it was all peaceful. They were great young people out there protesting, and they had a right to do that. And it was all colors. It just wasn't black. It was all colors."
