Ali R. I. P.

Ali. Dunno mixed bag.

Draft dodger and former member of what I consider a racist group - The Nation of Islam.

Excellent athlete and entertainer.


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Ali. Dunno mixed bag.

Draft dodger and former member of what I consider a racist group - The Nation of Islam.

Excellent athlete and entertainer.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

agreed...the man had three wives, cheated on all of them. Had he gone into the military, he never would have seen action, would have been treated like a king.
 
I agree on the Vietnam bit, sorta. But it`s interesting that Ali refused to go to war because of his Islamic faith, and now Islam is seemingly synonymous with war and hatred. I don`t condone draft dodging as a matter of principal, but I absolutely understand and agree with Ali`s personal reasons for not going to war. You gotta remember how he and people of his demographic were treated in the 60`s(and prior), and think how you`d feel about being ordered to kill people that never treated you the way your own country had. Like I said, I get it. And as for Islam, it wasn`t originally racist hate mongering- that`s relatively recent and an unfortunate representation skewed by the vocal extremists. On the same basis, Christianity is just racist hate mongering because the KKK uses Christianity as their grounds for their behavior. It`s important to keep this stuff in perspective.
 
No, he wasn`t perfect, but hey...most people are a mixed bag. He was an extremely talented athlete who walked the walk of his convictions and was an inspiration to a lotta people. I`m hard-pressed to not see a Net Positive from his life.

Glad he`s not being pilloried just for being a Muslim.

His refusal to be inducted (despite that expected preferential treatment regarding his MOS) is IMO a, uhm...multifaceted topic. As is his affiliation with the Nation of Islam. As are, heh heh...a whole lotta things.
 
I was not even going to post anything, but it looks (again) that most of the good folks on this forum hold many of the same values as I do. Ali was a great athlete and entertainer, but not a person I want my son to look up to. Not quite in the Jane Fonda category but close. If you want to be an American you have to do things for the greater good whether you agree with it or not. But Ali was one hell of a fighter and I watched every one of his fights and pulled for him to win. There will never be another fighter like him. R.I.P.
 
I was never a big fan of Ali. His personality was too much like Trump but he had talent for boxing if one likes boxing.

It seems most do not like him for his opposition to Vietnam. While others (many "Fortunate Sons") used college deferments, phony ailments, or hid in national guard units to dodge Vietnam (many tried in various ways but failed), he used religion. He was against the war but did not have qualms about beating on someone.

Add: I actually think the real "Americans" are the one that stood up for their opposition without hiding behind all the excuses.
 
Dont forget the many that went to Canada to avoid being drafted.. :)

Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion and are guaranteed to worship as they please..

I watched an ESPN marathon the other night about him, starting from the very beginning, all black and white, grainy film, etc., and if there was anything about him that stuck out it was that he was SURE of himself in any situation, was very literate, and even the great Howard Cosell could not put one over on him...

I was glad to watch and remember again, how he and Howard Cosell became good friends after a time...
He was one of those people who really had a "charisma" about him and it absolutely commanded your attention in a good manner...

I watched him walk right toward me at an airport once (there was no one else there except for his huge Wall of Men, and when our eyes made contact and I said something to him and he replied and smiled, I could feel and see how so many were totally enthralled by his presence...

There were many facets of his life that now will perhaps come to the surface to the comfort and delight of many...

I as many of you, followed his career with my Dad and little brother, and there is No One, absolutely No One, that could ever match him in or out of the ring in the Boxing World...
Dan F
 
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