The shocking news of a lawsuit alleging that Roberto Alomar had unprotected sex with his grilfriend after finding out he was HIV-positive was met with a swift response by the former Mets second baseman on Wednesday.
"It is filled with lies, and I am deeply saddened that someone I care for would make such terrible accusations and try to hurt me in this way ... I am in very good health and I ask that you respect my privacy during this time."
Alomar also had his new girlfriend make a statement to the press.
"It's not true. It's a very delicate case," Maripily Rivera said. "He feels comfortable because when you're telling the truth, you don't have anything to hide ... He's never gotten sick with me. We train together and he has well-defined and beautiful arms."
The language in each of their statements is very careful to slam the merits of the case and not the assertion that Alomar tested positive for HIV. There's a big difference, because the only issue is if Alomar knowingly engaged in unprotected sex once he knew his HIV status. The suit itself says that he didn't, which makes the whole thing seem like nothing more than a cruel cash grab by Alomar's ex-girlfriend.
It's been 18 years since Magic Johnson announced he was positive, and in 1991 no one thought that he'd be around half that long. Medical science has improved to a point that testing positive for HIV would give no reason why you also couldn't be in good health with well-defined arms.
All of which is ancillary to the fact that Alomar's health is Alomar's business and not ours. That won't stop people from asking or wondering, of course, but it's the truth.
