After announcing that he was retiring due to being HIV positive in November 1991, Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson tried to make a comeback the following year during training camp, but he backed off due to players around the league fearing they could contract the virus from him.
But by 1996, much progress had been made in the fight against HIV and AIDS, and the fear and ignorance, not to mention the stigma surrounding it and its victims, were starting to subside.