Muhammad Ali: A Great American

In 1960, a young brash American by the name of Cassius Clay won the gold medal in the Light Heavyweight division at Olympic games in Rome. To commemorate his win the young athlete published a poem:

To make America the greatest is my goal, so I beat the Russian, and I beat the Pole. And for the USA I won the medal of Gold.

It was in the midst of the Cold War and a Soviet reporter taken aback by the proud young American’s confidence and self-worth asked Clay about racial segregation in the United States. He responded by telling him that:  “You can tell your readers that we have got qualified people seeing to that, I’m not worried about it. The U.S.A. is still the best country in the world including yours. It might be hard getting something to eat at times, but I’m not fighting alligators and living in a mud hut.”

Cassius Clay was in fact your typical American patriot. Even his name change to Muhammad Ali, albeit controversial in 1964, today is perceived as a traditional American right. Ali was fully aware that in the 1960s, there would be a public opinion price to be paid for joining up with the Nation Of Islam.  Ali was willing to accept it in his belief of that every American has a right to self-determination. He recognized that in America we are guaranteed these freedoms under the United States Bill of Rights.

Till this day, there was no other athlete who was as outspoken or passionate about his personal beliefs and convictions. So passionate in fact, that he would not accommodate any phony role model image typically placed on many high profile athletes. Ali would not be deterred from speaking about what he saw was the injustices and challenge of institutionalized racism that we can’t imagine today. Even after Ali beat Sonny Liston he continued to be outspoken on what he saw as the struggles of the African American people.  He was quoted as saying:  ”I don’t have to be what you want me to be – I’m free to be what I want.”

In 1966, Ali was about to engage in the biggest fight of his career outside the ring. He applied as a conscientious objector to the war in Vietnam. He based his status on religious grounds but nevertheless was convicted of draft evasion. The World Boxing Association stripped him of his heavyweight title, and he became a political lightning rod for his outspoken opinion on the Vietnam War. Soon after, he was sentenced to five years in prison and paid a $100,000.00 fine. He battled his way through the court system on appeal. Then In 1971, after five years battling the courts, the United States Supreme Court overturned his draft conviction. By then, many in the United States had come to see Ali in a different light and respected his views and willingness to speak out on racism and social injustice. He eventually returned to boxing and after beating Oscar Bonavena in New York the stage was set for “The Fight of the Century” against then Heavyweight Champion Joe Frazier to take place in Madison Square Garden in 1971. After a hard fought 15 rounds Frazier retained his title on a unanimous decision. It was Ali’s first professional loss.