Magic Johnson, Cisco Pair For Technology At Community Centers

By Eric Fisher, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

Johnson Installing Cisco's Videoconferencing System In His 18 Community Centers

Basketball HOFer MAGIC JOHNSON and Cisco announced yesterday that he is installing the technology company's WebEx videoconferencing system in his 18 community empowerment centers around the country, adding to a previous, multi-year technology alignment struck a year ago between the two for Magic Johnson Enterprises (MJE). The centers, overseen by the Magic Johnson Foundation and serving more than 300,000 people to date, will use the video conferencing technology for a variety of distance learning educational offerings, best-practices sharing between the center and collaborative projects. Johnson said for his sprawing MJE interests, the Cisco videoconferencing technology has already saved an undisclosed seven-figure sum in travel costs, representing roughly half of his annual expenditures in that department. "We're able to work so much faster and smarter now. And it's not just money [in cost savings]. It's also time," Johnson said. "We've simply become a whole lot more efficient and accomplish more through this partnership. ... We've had this great relationship with Magic Johnson Enterprises, and now I'm thrilled to be able to extend it to the foundation work." The original Magic Johnson-Cisco relationship was borne out of Cisco's existing relationship with the NBA.

LEAGUE ISSUES: Johnson endorsed Cavaliers F LEBRON JAMES' recent comments that he plans to shift his uniform number from 23 to 6, and that no active NBA player should wear 23 as a tribute to Basketball HOFer MICHAEL JORDAN. "I think we all know how the game was and who's made a difference in the game, and Michael has definitely made a big difference in the game," Johnson said. "LARRY [BIRD] and I started it off and then just like DR. J and those guys passed it on to us, the baton, and we passed to Michael and he took the game to a whole other level. So we're all in favor of that if that's what everybody wants to do." Johnson also praised the decision of Basketball HOFer and former Lakers teammate KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR to take his fight with leukemia public. "It says a lot about his character and who he is to go out and then come out publicly with his announcement and then be willing to be the spokesperson and the face of cancer," Johnson said. "Kareem is a very committed guy, so once he makes a commitment he gives 150%, so you'll see him very involved. That's who he is."