Magic and Denzel Come to Win with Medal of Freedom Honor
Earvin “Magic” Johnson receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Joe Biden on January 4, 2025.
Congratulations to Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Denzel Washington for being among the 19 recipients to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom—the nation’s highest civilian honor—from President Joe Biden on January 4, 2025. Not only have I had the pleasure of getting to know both recipients and interviewing them often during my days as a sportswriter and celebrity reporter, both were among the 46 icons featured in the New York Times bestseller I co-authored with tennis legend Venus Williams, Come to Win: Business Leaders, Artists, Doctors, and Other Visionaries on How Sports Can Help You Top Your Profession.
Come to Win shares the first-person stories of highly accomplished people who reveal how sports helped them reach the top of their careers. Venus opens the book with a chapter on why it was important to her to become a businessperson while she was still at the top of her tennis game and how the stories from the contributors resonate with her. The messages from Venus and the contributors are evergreen.
In his chapter, Magic, whose Magic Johnson Enterprises invests in providing access to high-quality entertainment, products and services in multicultural communities, writes how his first goal was to be a rich businessman like Lansing’s Joel Ferguson or Gregory Eaton, not play in the NBA.
“When I saw Joel and Greg making a difference in Lansing, owning businesses that I had never dreamed an African American could own—who knew we could own buildings and car dealerships?—I said, ‘Wow, wait a minute. Nobody told me we could do this. I want to be like them. I've got to meet them. I've got to talk to them.’ I'm bold. I went up to them and they said, ‘Hey, we've been watching all your games.’ I was shocked when they said that to me. You never know who's in the stands. You just care about your family being there. I said, ‘I want to talk to you guys because one day I want to be a businessman.’ They said, “Okay, we're going to give you your first start by giving you a job.’
“I was 16 and started cleaning one of their office buildings. It had about seven floors on it, and I cleaned the offices from Friday after five o'clock until Sunday night. I would go in, get to my favorite office, sit in a big leather chair, put my feet up on the desk pretending I was the CEO, running the whole company. I would push the phone button as if I had an assistant out front and say, ‘Cathy, can you bring me some coffee and donuts?’ That's really where my thirst for business knowledge came from. I would ask Joel and Greg a lot of questions. Our friendship took off and they became my mentors. They're so proud now. It's really a joy for me to see how happy they are with my success. But I couldn't have done it without basketball.”
Denzel, an Oscar-winning actor who has served as a National Spokesman for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America for over 25 years, wrote about the impact the Boys Club of Mount Vernon had on him.
“My dream was never acting. I had never heard of it, and I didn't know anybody who did it. Yet, my father was a minister, and my mother owned a beauty shop, so there was always a lot of theater. I did, however, grow up with sports. My parents sent me to the Boys Club when I was six. I played basketball and football and ran track there. But I didn't just go for the sports. It was like a family, a comfort zone. You belonged and adults told you that you were important. It meant something and you felt good. It was, as they say now, a positive place for kids. I couldn't wait to get back there because that's where the fun was, where you got to make new friends and see who could run faster, who could jump higher, who could climb the rope, who could play pool the best, who could play Ping-Pong the best and be the best in arts and crafts?
“… The importance of building a foundation is something I learned through sports. Billy Thomas, who ran the Boys’ Club in Mount Vernon, New York, taught me something I'll never forget. I was on a track team and there was a kid in the third grade named Reginald Whitfield who was faster than me. He joined the team at the Boys Club and the coach knew I was worried. Billy said to me, ‘What's wrong with you? You're not yourself.’ It was a relay team, and I was the slowest one of the four. I was about to become the fifth, and there's only four on the relay team. I remember Billy talking about how Reginald doesn't know how to run the turns yet. How he doesn't know how to pass the baton. Basically, what he was telling me was that your natural ability will take you only so far without a foundation and training. I applied that to almost everything else in my life. I definitely applied it as an actor.”
Chef José Andres and me at The Bazaar in Los Angeles.
I watched the entire ceremony, which was emotional at times. I became teary-eyed watching Michael J. Fox , who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s at age 29 in 1991, unable to stand on his own. What wonders he has done through the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research though. It was lovely to see Ralph Lauren become the first fashion designer to receive the award, which also recognized his philanthropic nature, and Chef José Andres recognized for his charitable work too. I first met and interviewed Chef José in 2009 at the Aspen at Food & Wine Classic. He was a delight to talk to, so warm, friendly, caring and a family man with his young daughters in tow. The following year, he founded World Central Kitchen, a non-profit organization that provides food relief in the aftermath of natural disasters and other emergencies. Congratulations to all 19 recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. You inspire me to do more and be a better person.
