Magic Johnson, an unpaid Lakers vice president for several years, had his ceremonial title removed by the Lakers, the team announced Saturday.

Johnson is often critical of the Lakers and other teams on his Twitter feed. The franchise appeared to want to create distance from his wide-ranging opinions to eliminate conflict-of-interest issues, among other things.

“Earvin will always be a revered and beloved member of the Lakers family, but he does not have a position or role with the organization at this time,” Lakers publicist John Black said in a statement released by the team.

“He is not an advisor or a consultant, and his opinions, comments and social media posts are solely his, and do not represent or reflect those of Lakers ownership or management. Hopefully this will eliminate any confusion over this issue in the future.”


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