Two Faces of Muhammad Ali

 By Florida Bill

                              Muhammad Ali, 74, who died on June 2, 2016, was a great boxer, of that there is no question.  He was an icon who was revered worldwide and and news of his death reverberated around the globe.  He was the face of a champion. People from all walks of life lavished tributes on him as a boxer and a father and  a humanitarian during a three hour memorial service in his hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.
                               Streets along the way to the service were jammed with cars and Louisville residents.  Eulogies were delivered by family members, friends and clergymen. Also prominent politicians such as former President Bill Clinton and Utah's Mormon senator, Orrin Hatch joined in, as did entertainers such as Billy Crystal.  All in all, it was a spectacular farewell to "The Greatest."
                             During the service, speakers referenced the late fighter's court conviction for draft evasion and commended Ali for his courageous stand against racial oppression and treatment of African Americans as second class citizens, deprived of the rights due them.  In parsing the eulogies and the praise of Ali, it was suggested that Ali's refusal to be inducted, as was the law of the land, was, in fact, a noble decision.
                                 The final eulogy of the service was delivered by former President Clinton who lauded Muhammad for his skill as a boxer and for his genuineness as a witty and likeable person,  and for his contributions to America.
                              Like Ali, Clinton had avoided the draft in the 1960s, and is on record as having written that he "loathed"the military. He clearly endorsed the late boxer's disparagement of the call to arms during an unpopular war.  
                         Amid all the fanfare at his memorial, it appears history will ignore that other Ali, the one who saw love of country and patriotism as a contradiction because of injustices to Black Americans.   
                                 Ali, born Cassius Marcellus Clay, began boxing in high school and in 1960 won a gold medal in the Olympics in Rome. In 1964, at 22 years old, he defeated Sonny Liston to become the heavyweight champion of the world.   Soon after the Liston fight, it was announced that Clay had become a member of the Nation of Islam, a Black supremacy group whose leader in Chicago, Elijah Muhammad, spoke publicly that the white man was the devil.  It was Elijah who in 1967 bestowed upon Clay the Islamic name of Muhammad Ali.
                                 In that same year Ali refused induction into the military claiming that he had no reason to go 10,000 miles to fight the Viet Cong when Blacks were being oppressed and mistreated in America.
                                 "I ain't got no quarrel with those Viet Cong," he said.  He was convicted of draft evasion and stripped of his  title and his license to box and sentenced to five years in prison.  Instantly he became a hero to the counter culture which opposed the highly unpopular Viet Nam war, where more than 57,000 soldiers, sailors and marines were killed.  He remained free pending appeal of his conviction.
                                   In refusing induction, Ali claimed status as a conscientious objector  who could not fight because his religion forbid it.  He said that he was a minister of the Islamic faith. Draft officials declined to recognize Ali's request for a religious exemption. Other prominent entertainers such as Elvis Presley became soldiers, as well as some Muslims who answered the call of Uncle Sam.  Muslims have served in America's conflicts in the Civil War, World War I and II, Korea and and in Viet Nam. 
                             In 1971, the Supreme Court of the United States reversed the conviction recognizing Ali's  request for conscientious objector status as valid. 
                         He once again took on the mantle of The Greatest, when his license to box was restored and he resumed his career, retiring in 1978 after winning the heavyweight championship three times. 
                            Ironically, the man who "floated like a butterfly" and was known for his constant chatter,  lost much of his ability to move and speak during his 35-year battle with Parkinson's disease. 
                          But he fought the disease with the same spirit and confidence with which he fought in the ring.  Though mostly out of the spotlight, he remained an icon in the eyes of millions, and in fact his stature actually grew as he fought the disabling disease.  He was the recipient of many awards and tributes and had been selected to light the fire at the Olympic games in 1995.                                                Was Ali the best boxer, ever?  In many ways he was the "greatest"as he referred to himself.  He combined great pugilistic skill with an extraordinarily outgoing personality, coupled with compassion and concern for others, particularly those who had little. He was always eager to help those in need financially and in other ways. 
                               In retrospect, it is most likely true that our country's involvement in Viet Nam was a mistake.  But it happened, and thousands of young men and women were drafted and went to war for their country with a great number killed in action. 
                             To this day, many Americans decline to forgive Ali for his rebellion against a nation that asked him for his help.                               His legacy is that he was a great boxer, maybe even the greatest of all time. But his refusal to fight for America, undoubtedly the only country in the world where a poor Black kid named Cassius Clay could grow up to become The Greatest, will always be part of history.  He was a great boxer, beloved and respected by millions.  But, an American hero, never.

                                                      
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