A prodigious talent in the ring, Muhammad Ali’s greatest battle ensued outside the ropes amidst a backdrop of the Vietnam War and a steamrolling civil rights movement during the turbulent 1960’s. Were it not for Ali standing up for his religious beliefs and the plight of black people in America by refusing entry in the Army in 1967, Ali would not be the symbol of humanitarianism he is today, respected and recognized the world over. Had he not been willing to risk fortune, fame and freedom for his personal convictions, Ali would now only be known as a great fighter, maybe even the greatest, but along the lines of Joe Frazier or Sugar Ray Robinson, and not the Dalai Lama.
Why world leaders and ordinary citizens alike accept Ali now as a beacon of hope in the face of adversity - America’s version of Dalai Lama - can be traced to his criminal trial in 1967 for draft evasion, which pitted the black champion against the white federal government. Ali’s greatest fight of his career was not in Madison Square Garden, the venue of the first two historic Ali-Frazier slugfests, nor was it in exotic lands such as The Philippines or Africa, the locations of Ali’s other historic bouts. Not only was Ali fighting the U.S. government, the champion was fighting a climate of racial discrimination in America.
This fight started in 1967 in Houston at his scheduled military induction. In April of that year, Ali refused induction into the U.S. Army on the grounds that he is a minister of the Nation of Islam. An all-white draft board denied him conscientious objector 1 status in part because of Ali’s statements that he wasn’t against all wars, just the Vietnam War, and that he would participate in a Holy War.
Upon refusing entry at the Armed Forces ...
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Remnick goes into some detail about Ali's private live, including his religious conversion, his connection with Malcolm X, and his brief marriage to and divorce from Sonji Roi. He lets us in behind-the-scenes on some sports-writers, as well as on Norman Mailer, Angelo Dundee (Clay/Ali's trainer), and the bout between world champion Floyd Patterson and contender Sonny Liston. His primary focus, however, is on Clay/Ali's fight with Liston after Liston defeated Patterson.
In Jim Naughton’s book Taking To The Air, the main character is Michael Jordan. The book is Jordan’s life and talents. Michael Jeffrey Jordan was born February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York. He was the fourth child and the youngest of three boys. Michael Jordan is by any measure, the most popular athlete in America and perhaps the best-known figure in the world. I have chosen to use Maslow’s Theory of Hierarchy of Need to analysis Jordan’s personality. I will do my analysis by focusing on Jordan’s healthy personality, which is marked by his continued personal growth.
The first reason Muhammad Ali isn't a hero is because he is violent. For almost all of his life he fought in boxing matches that all started when he was a boy because he wanted to beat up the kid who stole his bike. For 14 years, on-and-off, he was heavyweight champion and before that a lightweight champion. To do this, you had to have the rage to hurt your opponent. Muhammad Ali even said, “I believe in the eye-for- an-eye business, I got no respect for a man who won’t hit back. You kill my dog, you better hide your cat” (Myers 36). Now, in his 60’s,...
In 1966 Muhammad Ali was arrested for refusing to be drafted to the war. His boxing license was stripped from him and his boxing
history in the 1950's and 1960's by hitting the society. Ali was a great boxer who was very confident in his boxing game. Ali wanted to make a change in society by trying to get rid of the racial discrimination in America. Ali was also against the war in Vietnam. Ali said “Unless you have a very good reason to kill, war is wrong.” Ali sent messages of hope to the African American community by telling them to have pride. Ali said “Why should they ask me to put on a uniform and go 10,000 miles from home and drop bombs and bullets on brown people while so called Negro people in Louisville are treated like dogs?” Ali said “The Vietnamese had nothing against him” (Schwartz).When he was drafted to fight in the war, a lieutenant called Ali by his real name, Cassius Clay, and he said, “Sir that isn't my name, my name is “MUHAMMAD ALI!” Ali said, again “Sir that is a slave name my name is “MUHAMMAD ALI” (Muhammad Ali [HH:MM:SS]). After that, Ali refused to serve in the Vietnam War. This lead Ali to the Supreme Court, and he was five years in imprisonment. Ali was precluded from the athletic commissions for fighting in the United States for three and a half years. Even though Ali was released from his five year sentence, he still had a jail sentence of four years, which was overturned by the Supreme Court (Schwartz). Ali was also stripped of the heavyweight boxing title because he refused to serve in the draft Following his suspension, Ali reclaimed
Ali proved to be a strong-willed individual that did leave a huge impact on America, but what impact had increased as time continued and his faults have been somewhat forgotten. Those believing that Muhammad was more of a hero than Jackie Robinson most likely feel that Ali’s action of standing up against the United States government, when he was drafted, was an act of courage and bravery. The main reason why Ali didn 't wish to go to war in Vietnam was because he believed he shouldn 't be fighting for a country that ultimately didn 't support his own people within its own borders. Ali has developed into a figure of courage after the time that his happened. In the 1960s when this originally happened, Ali had more enemies as a result of his religious and social views and ideas than fans. Today we see that what he did may be considered heroic, but back when it actually occurred, Ali was seen as a nuisance to America. He was spreading word and influencing people to act against their own country in a time of war. Since Muhammad Ali’s retirement from boxing the course of time has faded criticism of Ali and left mostly just the positive parts of his life and career. As a society we’ve buried the controversial side of Ali’s existence in our minds and history simply remembers his greatness as an athlete. Robinson had an impact on
At first, Muhammad Ali had no intension of boxing. After his bike was stolen, in the month of October 1954, when he was twelve, his whole life was set. Upon finding out that there was a police officer in the basement of a gym, Ali went down to the officer in a shocked state of mind demanding a "state wide bike hunt" for hsi stolen bicycle. But all the cop told him to do was to learn to fight. and that
The first picture was taken on April 28, 1967 when Muhammad Ali was indicated in Houston for refusing army indication. In 1967, during the Vietnam War, Muhammad Ali was drafted in the U.S. armed forces but he refused to enlist. Muhammad Ali’s refusal to serve in the Vietnam War led to his prosecution by the government and he was sentenced to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. He was also stripped of his world title and was banned from fighting in the US.
Muhammad Ali is an example of an athlete who used politics in sports to advocate for the Civil Rights movement and protest the war. As an Olympic gold medalist, heavy weight titlist, and many other victories, he used the fame for humanitarian efforts. Ali refused to serve in Vietnam due to his religion and as a result, he was stripped of his 1967 title. He retired in 1981 with an incredible 59 wins and five losses, but he will always known as symbol of courage, will power and strength, not for his career milestones, but for breaking racial barriers.
Muhammad Ali, whose birth name was Cassius Marcellus Clay, was born in Louisville, Kentucky January 17, 1942. He was named for a white, Kentucky abolitionist, Cassius M. Clay, and received the name Marcellus from his father’s name. Ali’s father, Marcellus Clay was a mural painter who did a lot of work for many churches in the community and his mother Odessa (Grady) Clay was a domestic worker. As a young boy, Cassius Clay was full of energy and carried a loud mouth wherever he went. One day when Ali discovered that someone stole his bicycle, he became enraged and made loud threatening comments by exclaiming that he would “whup whoever stole it.” Upon hearing these threats, Louisville police officer Joe Martin persuaded Ali to take out his frustration in the boxing ring rather than on the dangerous streets of Louisville. At age 12, Ali’s boxing career had officially begun.
When inducted to fight in a war they don’t believe in, Ali and Strickland both reveal their tenacious natures. As a well-known boxer, Ali was a public figure who
...ons give us all an example of what it is to really believe in something and risk loosing it all for doing what is right. Ali's actions and decisions showed us he was not afraid of failure. His tranquility and determination made some people admire him. He made his decisions and stuck to them. Like he said, "And now the whole world knows that, so far as my own beliefs are concerned, I did what was right for me" (Hauser 172).
Hauser, Thomas. "The Importance of Muhammad Ali." The Glider Lehrman Institute of American History, n.d. Web. 31 Oct. 2013.
"Politics has come to be considered not only inappropriate in the arena of sports, but actually antithetical to it," Zirin says. "We want so much to see sports solely as an arena of play, not seriousness. But here's the thing, this can cheapen not only the greatness and relevance of sports to us as a society, but also the courage of the athletes" . The pursuit of fame, wealth and status can blind the human conscience, which is why it is important for us to encourage athletes to voice their opinions. As a nation, we should not silence our athletes, because it is the truly courageous athletes who have the audacity to stand up when it is socially unacceptable. Sports should be used as a platform for a certain kind of politics such as militarism, nationalism and human rights. A few athletes stand out as political advocates of their time who were not afraid to express their opinions: Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson, and Billie-Jean King. There is a rich tradition of resistance to politics in sports, but their actions have been integral to country’s struggle for racial and gender equality; sports are a safe place to discuss these difficult topics and therefore is essential.