LAST NOVEMBER, Earvin "Magic" Johnson brought goosebumps and chills to basketball fans around the world by announcing on live television that he had tested HIV-positive and would retire from professional basketball.

More importantly, he instantly became a media-hyped prophet, delivering an ultimatum to teenagers and middle-aged adulterers alike: Practice safe sex if you don't want to contract AIDS.

Magic's life had taken a 180-degree turn, and the world felt sorry for him.

But have things really changed? Magic took the national spotlight again yesterday--on the basketball court--when he played in the NBA All-Star game and fingerrolled his way to the game's Most Valuable Player award.

He is also planning to play for Team USA in the Summer Olympics, and is even pondering the idea of returning to compete in the NBA.

The most distressing part of Magic's return to the court is that the NBA and the Olympic Committee have bent over back-wards to accommodate him. And the Los Angeles Lakers have yet to officially take him off the injured reserve list--meaning that he has not officially retired.

Once again, he now sits in the spotlight as a hero--for all the wrong reasons.

IHAVE ALWAYS considered Magic to be one of the greatest players of all time, if not the best. And this praise comes from a diehard Boston Celtics and Larry Bird fan.

I have respected Magic off the basketball court as well, as he always said or did the right thing. And he impressed me even more with his poise and maturity in November when he announced his retirement and subsequent plans to lead the charge against AIDS.

I believed that he would succeed in this endeavor as well as did on the basketball court.

But his decision to return to the game has changed that in many respects.

First, despite recent assurance from some medical experts that Magic has virtually no chance of infecting fellow players, the fact remains that such an event is possible. If Magic only collides with another player chasing a loose ball--which a great competitor like Magic has been known to do--gaping wounds and fingernail scratches on both players are not out of the question.

Second, Magic is simply seeking more glory--and he even admits it. As Magic told The Boston Globe last week: "When you're not with a team, you miss stuff. And you miss the competition. The crowd. Now I have a chance to have that one more time. All of it is going to be great. I'll bottle it. I'll put a cap on it. And I'll never let go."

That's strange, Magic. I don't think too many athletes would have a problem "putting a cap on" five NBA championships and three league Most Valuable Player Awards--and just walking away. You had your glory days. Be happy for the career you did have.

Furthermore, Magic, you didn't play in a single regular season game. Why should you have played in the All-Star game, which is reserved for the players who have performed the best in the first half of the season?