Tuesday, Magic Johnson sat with Anderson Cooper to clear the air regarding comments made by Donald Sterling about the NBA Hall of Famer, their relationship, and accusations he schemed to steal the Los Angeles Clippers.
Johnson was courteous and kind in telling Cooper how he felt about the malicious way Sterling continues to bring up his name and criticize him. In true African-American tradition, Johnson repeatedly expressed his willingness to forgive Sterling, referring to himself as a man of God, despite the fact that he has yet to receive an apology.
"It's sad. It really is," he said, in an exclusive interview. "I'm going to pray for this man."
Johnson also expressed concern regarding the manner in which Sterling continually deflected the situation away from himself, despite the fact that Johnson actually has nothing to do with the matter and had never met Stiviano before taking her now infamous Instagram photo.
"Magic Johnson shouldn't have been included in the conversation,” he says. “And since you’ve put me in it again… Then my competitive spirit comes out."
Magic cleared up what seem to be a few inaccuracies. Monday night, Sterling told Cooper that Johnson called twice and personally advised him to be patient and not say anything. Magic says that he didn't call Sterling, but in fact Sterling phoned him.
"I said the number one thing you need to do which you haven't done is apologize to everybody, and myself," Johnson said he told Sterling, who asked Magic to go on Barbara Walters with him. "What's really sad is, it's not about me. This is about the woman you love outing you and taping you and putting your conversation out here for everybody to know. … This is between you two, but then he wants to include me."
During his interview with Anderson Cooper, Sterling threw shade at Magic’s philanthropic record in the African-American community. Magic responded by saying:
"My whole life is devoted to urban America. So, you know I just wish he knew the facts when he's talking," Johnson told Cooper. "But he's a man who's upset and he's reaching. He's reaching. He's trying to find something that he can grab on to help him save his team. And it's not going to happen."
Check out interview highlights with Magic Johnson below.
