Earvin "Magic" Johnson's new book, "When The Game Was Ours," accuses former NBA star Isiah Thomas of spreading rumors that he is gay, but Thomas denies saying such things about Johnson, according to Sports Illustrated.

“I’m really hurt, and I really feel taken advantage of for all these years. I’m totally blindsided by this," Thomas told SI.com. "Every time that I’ve seen Magic, he has been friendly with me."

Johnson writes about their Lakers-Pistons rivalry, which lasted from the late 1980's to early '90's and makes claims that Thomas spread rumors that Johnson was homosexual or bisexual after he announced he had HIV.

"Isiah kept questioning people about it.... The one guy I thought I could count on had all these doubts. It was like he kicked me in the stomach," Johnson says in the book, which will be released November 4 and is co-written with Larry Bird and author Jackie MacMullan.

Johnson also admits that he along with Michael Jordan and other members of the 1992 Olympic Dream Team conspired to keep Thomas off the team. 

“Isiah killed his own chances when it came to the Olympics,’’ Johnson wrote. “Nobody on that team wanted to play with him.’’

For years, Thomas believed that Jordan was solely responsible for blackballing him. “I’m glad that he’s finally had the nerve and the courage to stand up and say it was him, as opposed to letting Michael Jordan take the blame for it all these years,’’ Thomas told SI.com. “I wish he would have had the courage to say this stuff to me face to face.”--KNB