US Representative Duncan Hunter, Jr., 50th District of California is up for reelection Tuesday. He shot down the idea of naming a small ship after Cesar Chavez citing he was merely an enlisted soldier rather than a military hero...! Waging PEACE is more about changing hearts and minds than it is about the physical and psychological domination of your opponent, who will then still always hate you. Muhammad Ali deserves an aircraft carrier named after him for CORRECTLY opposing an unjust war that destroyed so many Vietnamese and American lives, then and still now...! And while we are at it, WE want that ship named after Cesar Chavez...!
18
Ali knocked out other black males (mildly brain damaging and lowering their IQs) for the amusement and profit of the white man.
7
I loved watching Muhammad Ali box. Men like him are rare - the man was a champion both inside and outside the ring. I loved and admired the way he refused to enter the armed forces and fight in Vietnam. He had stones. He knew what he believed, stayed strong, and refused to turn his back on his principals. Good for him. We should all strive to have strength of character like that.
May the Lord bless him, and may he rest in peace.
May the Lord bless him, and may he rest in peace.
9
In order to make her point Ms Oats ignores the fact that all athletes are expected to act in a manner somewhat above the general populace.
Ask Johnny Manziel.
Ask Johnny Manziel.
1
I question the statement that Ali was the grandson of a slave. He was born 77 years after slavery ended. It should have said great-grandson.
According to the History Channel's Website feature "10 Things You May Not Know About Mohammed Ali", Ali's maternal "great-grandfather Abe Grady was an Irishman who emigrated to the United States and settled in Kentucky in the 1860s. There he married a freed slave, and one of their grandchildren was Ali’s mother, Odessa Lee Grady Clay. In 2009, Ali visited his great-grandfather’s ancestral hometown of Ennis, Ireland, and met fellow members of the O’Grady clan."
According to the History Channel's Website feature "10 Things You May Not Know About Mohammed Ali", Ali's maternal "great-grandfather Abe Grady was an Irishman who emigrated to the United States and settled in Kentucky in the 1860s. There he married a freed slave, and one of their grandchildren was Ali’s mother, Odessa Lee Grady Clay. In 2009, Ali visited his great-grandfather’s ancestral hometown of Ennis, Ireland, and met fellow members of the O’Grady clan."
15
Joyce Carol Oates is to writing as Muhammad Ali was to boxing: brilliant, versatile and surprising.
17
Ms. Oates nailed the essence of the man.
13
Ali refused to be owned like a slave by a country that perpetrated the bondage on black people. In his struggle with America over the Vietnam War, he once said to a white man outside a courthouse in an exchange, “You want me to go over there and fight for you when you won’t even stand up for me at home.” That was Ali exposing the hypocrisy of America.
Muhammad Ali could dazzle people with his words as much as he did in the ring with his skill. He was the inventor of rap before it became a profession.
I will not comment on Ali’s personal failings because I did not know him. Whatever they were, let us not stand in judgment because we are flawed as well.
May God rest the soul of this great and flawed man, and restore him to the image he once was before Parkinson’s disease changed him and took his life.
Muhammad Ali could dazzle people with his words as much as he did in the ring with his skill. He was the inventor of rap before it became a profession.
I will not comment on Ali’s personal failings because I did not know him. Whatever they were, let us not stand in judgment because we are flawed as well.
May God rest the soul of this great and flawed man, and restore him to the image he once was before Parkinson’s disease changed him and took his life.
15
To say that Ali "transcended race" does not do his conscious, constant racial commentary justice. Ali recognized White America's dislike for and discomfort with Black America, and he called it out as long as he had a voice. Ali is about race, Ali is a Black man in a White man's nation. Ali is not "politically correct," for too often that means biting your tongue and refraining from calling out injustice. Muhammad Ali did everything in his power to remind each individual of the strong Black man that he was, to make sure no one could ever say he "transcends race."
11
Why bring race up. I grew up with Ali and just though he was the greatest... not white, black, had a sexual preference, non-religious, Christian or Muslim... he was just the greatest.
3
Nor Trump's African-American
3
A great boxer, but a racist and a segregationist all the same .
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HqiWFLsgVi4
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HqiWFLsgVi4
How pathetic can you get.
Ali gained fame by being loud and obnoxious. Had he relied solely on his boxing skills, his fame would have been restricted to a very short part of his lifespan.
Ali gained fame by being loud and obnoxious. Had he relied solely on his boxing skills, his fame would have been restricted to a very short part of his lifespan.
Ali's epitaph: "Here lies Muhammad Ali, black enough."
2
Seriously? Joyce Carol Oates? The A.J. Liebling Award for Excellence in Boxing Writing is...prestigious. Who was she up against? I mean there must be scores of books written about boxing every year, right? I know she's won other awards for her writing, but look up what and when she won. She's a prolific writer (more than 50 novels and God knows how many opinion pieces), but can you name one? She's like the late Steve Allen, who used to say that he wrote more than 4,000 songs. Can you name one of them? Anyway, Ms. Oates has an odd brain. Here's a July 2013 tweet of hers about Egypt: "Where 99.3% of women report having been sexually harassed & rape is epidemic--Egypt--natural to inquire: what's the predominant religion?" She followed that up by tweeting, "Blaming religion(s) for cruel behavior of believers may be a way of not wishing to acknowledge they’d be just as cruel if secular.” Oates on Ali is like James Franco on Michelangelo. Oy.
4
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
Rest now with Allah, Muhammad Ali!
Rest now with Allah, Muhammad Ali!
13
Perfect.
2
Mr. Ali was a Muslim first and a boxer second. This article — by a writer who has repeatedly made ignorant, bigoted statements regarding Islam — is insulting to his memory. Over several years, Ms. Oates has obstinately offended the ideals Mr. Ali embodied and disrespected the religion he sacrificed so much to practice. Her experience writing on boxing and the awards she has won are far outweighed by the prejudices she has voiced. The New York Times simply should not have printed this article.
2
Very nice article. Muhammad Ali was one that many of today's athletes are not: he would speak his mind on important issues, and would be willing to go to jail to stay true to his beliefs.
The majority of today's athletes are more concerned with $$$ and not offending the ones that are paying them, not looking at what their legacy will be.
Muhammad Ali's greatest legacy is this: He was not for sale.
The majority of today's athletes are more concerned with $$$ and not offending the ones that are paying them, not looking at what their legacy will be.
Muhammad Ali's greatest legacy is this: He was not for sale.
15
Cassius Clay was a draft dodger in the highest tradition of Bill Clinton. To his credit, he was not a simple traitor in the fashion of Jane Fonda. Utilizing a money-is-no-object legal budget, Clay violated law by failing to report for duty after being drafted. He was convicted of draft evasion, but after years of appeals costing money no slave ever had, the Supreme Court ruled the draft board committed a tiny error. The winding down of the Vietnam War saved Clay from retrial--wherein he would have again been convicted.
No American Hero was, is, or ever will be a simple draft dodger. If you're looking for a hero, try Everett Alvarez, who was shot down while defending our allies from a communist country in 1964, and spent eight years at the Hanoi Hilton. NEVER CONSIDER CLAY THE DRAFT DODGER TO BE AN AMERICAN HERO OF ANY SORT.
No American Hero was, is, or ever will be a simple draft dodger. If you're looking for a hero, try Everett Alvarez, who was shot down while defending our allies from a communist country in 1964, and spent eight years at the Hanoi Hilton. NEVER CONSIDER CLAY THE DRAFT DODGER TO BE AN AMERICAN HERO OF ANY SORT.
1
As a middle-class young white boy I learned so much from Ali during that period when he changed his name. My father hated him but somehow I knew Ali was right. There was a fundamental truth in his fight and because Ali stood his ground I began to see through the filters of my white upbringing. Black men are not weak, they are not stupid and they are not subservient. Ali gave ME that gift.
24
Thank you Joyce Carol Oates for this beautiful reminiscence and understanding of the man.
3
Ali's athletic accomplishments are indisputable. However, I was never a fan of what I considered his lack of sportsmanship, e.g. exulting over a fallen opponent or goading Joe Frazier the way he did. That sportsmanship should be considered white and ipso facto an imposition and emasculation of a black man is most regrettable indeed.
1
how ali got his persona/shtick, from gorgeous george, a professional wrestler
Muhammad Ali and James Brown acknowledged that their own approach to flamboyant self-promotion was influenced by George. A 19-year-old Ali met a 46-year-old George at a Las Vegas radio station. During George's radio interview, the wrestler's promo caught the attention of the future heavyweight champion. If George lost to Classy Freddie Blassie, George exclaimed, "I'll crawl across the ring and cut my hair off! But that's not gonna happen because I'm the greatest wrestler in the world!" Ali, who later echoed that very promo when taunting opponent Sonny Liston, recalled, "I saw 15,000 people comin' to see this man get beat. And his talking did it. I said, 'This is a gooood idea!'" In the locker room afterward, the seasoned wrestler gave the future legend some invaluable advice: "A lot of people will pay to see someone shut your mouth. So keep on bragging, keep on sassing and always be outrageous
Muhammad Ali and James Brown acknowledged that their own approach to flamboyant self-promotion was influenced by George. A 19-year-old Ali met a 46-year-old George at a Las Vegas radio station. During George's radio interview, the wrestler's promo caught the attention of the future heavyweight champion. If George lost to Classy Freddie Blassie, George exclaimed, "I'll crawl across the ring and cut my hair off! But that's not gonna happen because I'm the greatest wrestler in the world!" Ali, who later echoed that very promo when taunting opponent Sonny Liston, recalled, "I saw 15,000 people comin' to see this man get beat. And his talking did it. I said, 'This is a gooood idea!'" In the locker room afterward, the seasoned wrestler gave the future legend some invaluable advice: "A lot of people will pay to see someone shut your mouth. So keep on bragging, keep on sassing and always be outrageous
4
I was especially struck by the opening line of this wonderful essay--consider the proximity, to know that one's grandfather, the father of your father, was simply a possession in the eyes of the law and the dominant culture. As a white man, I am, as I have been before, at a loss to know quite what to do in the face of such brilliance, and on so many fronts--physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual--and such generosity of character manifesting in a person with that legacy of suffering and oppression. I suppose I just have to say thank you and try my best to measure up and be of some service to the world.
Ali's recounting of his return to the segregated south after winning the gold medal in Rome is just amazing and can be found 15 minutes in to this morning's Democracy Now: http://www.democracynow.org/
The documentary "When We Were Kings," about the Ali-Foreman fight is one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen, a beautifully rendered portrait of grace and strategic brilliance under not just pressure but amidst intense pain and--you get the sense, for the very first time for him--fear.
Ali's recounting of his return to the segregated south after winning the gold medal in Rome is just amazing and can be found 15 minutes in to this morning's Democracy Now: http://www.democracynow.org/
The documentary "When We Were Kings," about the Ali-Foreman fight is one of the most inspiring things I've ever seen, a beautifully rendered portrait of grace and strategic brilliance under not just pressure but amidst intense pain and--you get the sense, for the very first time for him--fear.
11
Americans cheered through their tears for the American Sniper, as they watched the sappy propaganda film, which memorialized Chris Kyle's exploits, because he shot a lot of those Iraqi Bad Guys, who were killing our boys...our heroes!
Hardly anyone dares to pose the moral question today, which Muhammed Ali had the guts to ask of the Johnson Administration during the Vietnam War, when he said, "My conscience won't let me shoot my brother or some darker people, and shoot them for what?"
Disturbingly, I think that the Pentagon has become so good at propagandizing what has obviously been a thirty years war to conquer the Greater Middle East in order to control its oil, that hardly anyone thinks to ask the question. Or if they do ask, they just don't recognize that killing Iraqis in Iraq has been shaped in their minds to be a good thing, because Iraq has so much oil, that Americans must believe that perpetual war is desirable, but of course we must believe every pretext, but oil, drives the mission.
Lucky for the Pentagon, that most people don't ask, and never will. The Generals have internalized Goebbels almost as if they were indeed Teutonic, and the American People have responded in kind by being thoughtless on cue.
Evil really is banal, and with each passing year our government proves just how right Hannah Arendt was, when she first discovered that truth.
The Questions asked by Ali should still shame us, if we thought about it for a bit, but we don't
Hardly anyone dares to pose the moral question today, which Muhammed Ali had the guts to ask of the Johnson Administration during the Vietnam War, when he said, "My conscience won't let me shoot my brother or some darker people, and shoot them for what?"
Disturbingly, I think that the Pentagon has become so good at propagandizing what has obviously been a thirty years war to conquer the Greater Middle East in order to control its oil, that hardly anyone thinks to ask the question. Or if they do ask, they just don't recognize that killing Iraqis in Iraq has been shaped in their minds to be a good thing, because Iraq has so much oil, that Americans must believe that perpetual war is desirable, but of course we must believe every pretext, but oil, drives the mission.
Lucky for the Pentagon, that most people don't ask, and never will. The Generals have internalized Goebbels almost as if they were indeed Teutonic, and the American People have responded in kind by being thoughtless on cue.
Evil really is banal, and with each passing year our government proves just how right Hannah Arendt was, when she first discovered that truth.
The Questions asked by Ali should still shame us, if we thought about it for a bit, but we don't
13
There are so many reasons why Muhammad Ali was significant. That he was a great fighter is the main claim to fame but there is so much more. He had an international stage and used it to further open the eyes of many Baby Boomers to the realities of the struggle for equality. When he won the gold medal in 1960 and a few years later the heavy weight world championship I remember so clearly becoming aware of Black Pride. And oh, the spoken word. He was a smooth rapper and an even smoother dancer in the ring. He even made Howard Cosell look good. Many of us never cared a lick about boxing until Ali came along. But we cared about this man.
9
Ali was undivided in heart and mind and his impacts on the repressed and their oppressor's will forever ripple across time and humanity. Of his own freewill he took upon himself the blows of death, repression and hatred so immorally and cruelly unleashed by the white man upon people of color. Thank you Ali for beating back the bullies with the power of your spirit, your army is afoot.
4
Joyce Carol Oates has written thoughtfully on boxing in the past and I think she has written here one of the best tributes to Muhammad Ali. Thank You.
4
You are right Muhammad Ali had "heart"--a brave heart and also a compassionate heart. He reinvented himself as all true heroes must and survived defeats in the ring and in the public to be warmly embraced as the prototype of the new African-American man that paved the way for those who followed like Barack Obama. He is the archetype of self-healing and the very role model to heal the racial wound that President Obama noted is "America's original sin."
6
Thank you Joyce Carol Oates. Who else could write so knowledgeably and with such beautiful prose about Ali?
2
A fine description on his life and times. Salute to this legendary Boxer!
1
Sorry, all I ever saw in Ali was an ordinary Vietnam war draft dodger and Black Muslim who was also champion prize fighter.
Which probably explains why it was no less than George W. Bush who awarded Ali with the Award for Freedom in the White House back in 2005. Birds of a feather...ehhh Georgie?
Which probably explains why it was no less than George W. Bush who awarded Ali with the Award for Freedom in the White House back in 2005. Birds of a feather...ehhh Georgie?
I loved Muhammed Ali and admired his quick mind as well as his quick hands. One commentator wrote "he didn't care much about boxing." I disagree. One doesn't become good at anything one doesn't have a passion for let alone become 'the Greatest'. I admired him when he became a Black Muslim and changed his name. I admired him for steadfastly refusing to be drafted and paying the price. Those fights with Joe Frasier were something else. However, I did not admire the way he treated Joe Frasier as a man. Calling him a gorilla and punching a rubber gorilla doll did nothing but play into the white man's racist stereotype of the black man. It was unfortunate but who among us always does the right thing? Ali showed grace in the ring and grace in fighting the fight of his life, Parkinson's disease. I value his life and what he gave to us and taught us. He was the greatest. Rest in peace Mohammed Ali, you deserve it and heaven too just as you wanted and strived for at the end.
3
thank you JCO for your wonderful words, author of Them, great writer of all times.
4
I respect this man, Muhammad Ali, whose death is but a quick stop before America returns to the roaring racist highway. A Great inspiration to people of color, thank you Muhammad Ali!!
11
Why does the New York Times still refer to him as Cassius Clay/ Muhammad Ali? The Times did that in the sixties and are still doing it today. Muhammad Ali was a grown man. He had the right to decide that his name was no longer the slave name given to his family by some white man. He did not need any one's permission to chose his own name. While you write that he was never the White Man's Negro, you still assign what he and many considered an illegal and meaningless name given to his family during his great grandfather's time as a slave. Ali's children have the last name he assigned. They are not Clay. They are Ali. Respect!
5
Thank you for this piece, Ms. Oates. I'm a middle school English teacher and I intend to use your essay as an example of beautiful writing for my students, as well as to shed a little light on issues of race, war, evolving ideas about justice and what it means to be an American. Not in a dogmatic way, just to illustrate what a single person can accomplish, and how they may inspire us over the arc of a lifetime. When I forced my own busy, distracted 15 year old daughter to focus and watch a old clip of an interview between Barbara Walters and a young Ali back in the day, she said, "Wow, how can anyone be so boastful?'' Yes, I told her, but there is so much more to the story......of Muhamed Ali. This will become required summer reading for her, also. Thank you!
5
Plenty of Muslims served their country in Vietnam. Ali's refusal to serve was a selfish, cowardly act.
1
ABC wide world of Sports- Ali and Cosell. THAT, to my generation, defines sports of the 70's.
And that guy who fell off the ski jump.
And that guy who fell off the ski jump.
29
Muhammad Ali was very much "The White Man's Negro" if the "white man" in question was a racial segregationist:
Muhammad Ali on Interracial Marriage
http://www.unz.com/akarlin/muhammad-ali-on-race/?highlight=muhammad+ali
"This was, after all, the man who not only brilliantly playacted a combination panic attack/nervous breakdown at the weigh-in of his first championship fight with the dreaded Sonny Liston in 1964; served as the redoubtable, tricksterlike black comic to Howard Cosell’s liberal Jewish straight man; had a highly publicized religious conversion to a strange, if influential, cult that disliked whites but wanted to be a perfect imitation of them, aggrandizing their importance while humanizing their stark doctrine; … but who also believed for some several years that a mad scientist named Yacub invented white people by grafting them from blacks, that satellites from Allah circled the earth and would imminently destroy the United States, and that blacks who dated or married whites should be killed."
http://www.unz.com/isteve/gerald-early-on-muhammad-ali/
Muhammad Ali on Interracial Marriage
http://www.unz.com/akarlin/muhammad-ali-on-race/?highlight=muhammad+ali
"This was, after all, the man who not only brilliantly playacted a combination panic attack/nervous breakdown at the weigh-in of his first championship fight with the dreaded Sonny Liston in 1964; served as the redoubtable, tricksterlike black comic to Howard Cosell’s liberal Jewish straight man; had a highly publicized religious conversion to a strange, if influential, cult that disliked whites but wanted to be a perfect imitation of them, aggrandizing their importance while humanizing their stark doctrine; … but who also believed for some several years that a mad scientist named Yacub invented white people by grafting them from blacks, that satellites from Allah circled the earth and would imminently destroy the United States, and that blacks who dated or married whites should be killed."
http://www.unz.com/isteve/gerald-early-on-muhammad-ali/
It's true - boxing was the least of the things Muhammad Ali accomplished.
"Hero" is a word that is vastly overused. But Muhammad Ali was a Hero.
"Hero" is a word that is vastly overused. But Muhammad Ali was a Hero.
3
Another NYT piece lumping all white men together as a monolithic bloc threatened by or somehow victimizing another, more fashionable demographic.
Looks like you never miss a chance to play this card.
Looks like you never miss a chance to play this card.
3
Getting punched repeatedly in a small ring defined by tight ropes, surrounded by a screaming audience, does not constitute "pragmatic stoicism."
It is an act of desperate self-destruction. And machismo.
Let's not romanticize this horrible sport.
It is an act of desperate self-destruction. And machismo.
Let's not romanticize this horrible sport.
7
Great man. Too bad he had to compete in a sport based on inflicting brain damage on other people to come to attention.
3
Nice story about a man of real courage. But what's so often overlooked about the Rumble in the Jungle is that Ali did not simply lie against the ropes and do nothing. He peppered Foreman with repeated right leads, left jabs and combos to the head throughout the match. The cumulative effect of those punches is what knocked Big George out in the eighth round, not just the right hand that put him on the canvass.
5
Why is it that we sometimes speak of heroic people of color as "transcending race", but never speak of a white person that way?
Can you think of one example of a white person being descriibed that way? I cannot. If you have an example, show me.
Can you think of one example of a white person being descriibed that way? I cannot. If you have an example, show me.
14
"The heart of the champion is this: One never repudiates one’s deepest values, one never gives in."
Hemingway said "courage" is "grace under pressure"--toreadors as paradigms.
Plato said "courage" (andreion--bravery, manliness) is holding on to your convictions (courage of your convictions) despite threats of theft by Time (forgetting), Pleasure (wishful thinking) or Pain (denial). Given silly convictions it comes across as mere stubbornness.
Hemingway omits wishful thinking and conveniently forgetting. And his paradigm suggests facing threats of pain or death--is all for show--and profit.
JCO follows Plato more than Hemingway. Ali could easily have "given in" to the lure of money--as did Michael Jordon--"Whites buy sneakers too." Or to avoid being a pariah--threatened with jail; stripped of civil rights.
Some have suggested he was used but the "Nation" of black Muslims--a poster boy for their values.
But he put it more simply and fundamentally--he refused to murder and kill Vietcong--who never harmed him--to do the bidding of white American which did--as well as all blacks--as noted by MLKing.
"My country right or wrong" is the motto of cowards--like complicit, compliant Germans who never resisted Nazis. Those who did were real champions.
Hemingway said "courage" is "grace under pressure"--toreadors as paradigms.
Plato said "courage" (andreion--bravery, manliness) is holding on to your convictions (courage of your convictions) despite threats of theft by Time (forgetting), Pleasure (wishful thinking) or Pain (denial). Given silly convictions it comes across as mere stubbornness.
Hemingway omits wishful thinking and conveniently forgetting. And his paradigm suggests facing threats of pain or death--is all for show--and profit.
JCO follows Plato more than Hemingway. Ali could easily have "given in" to the lure of money--as did Michael Jordon--"Whites buy sneakers too." Or to avoid being a pariah--threatened with jail; stripped of civil rights.
Some have suggested he was used but the "Nation" of black Muslims--a poster boy for their values.
But he put it more simply and fundamentally--he refused to murder and kill Vietcong--who never harmed him--to do the bidding of white American which did--as well as all blacks--as noted by MLKing.
"My country right or wrong" is the motto of cowards--like complicit, compliant Germans who never resisted Nazis. Those who did were real champions.
19
Wow, she nailed it. A fitting tribute from one champion to another.
11
Those of us who could never understand why people hailed a guy who beat up other people, joined a sham religious group, had children with various women, and was mentally incapacitated should garner so much press. Do any of these folks know who Jonas Salk was?
7
Yes. One of those "folks" single, white, retired female here. I know who Jonas Salk was and I honor and honored Muhammed Ali for his passion and his principles. He was a boxer. His religion was his and not yours to deny. He had Parkinson's and probably brain injury from the Foreman fight among others.
7
Often when asked to name a hero, we name those we merely admire or strive to become. But Ali was a true warrior. The poetry he made, the poetry of his life, will live on. Truly, his “spiritual character” allowed him to “transcend his own origins” and inspire great writing like this. His legend is only magnified by the tragedy of his final years.
2
It is only just that all praise for Ali also include mention of the powerful teachings of The Honorable Elihjo Mohamed, whom Ali many times proclaimed as his spiritual mentor.
For some reason today the remarkable wisdom of The Honorable Elihjo Mohamed is ignored when he had many urgent things to say about our current problems of global warming and discrimination in facilities of evacuation.
For some reason today the remarkable wisdom of The Honorable Elihjo Mohamed is ignored when he had many urgent things to say about our current problems of global warming and discrimination in facilities of evacuation.
2
I hate boxing, I always did. I think people like Ali are nuts to get in the ring, and I think the people who watch are no better than those who watch dog fights. However, Ali was a hero because he said NO to Vietnam. There was more legitimacy after he took this stand, to all the war protestors and draft dodgers. Protesting was an act of courage, and evading the draft was something close to noble. People like GW Bush are horrible because the "served," by not "serving," due to their family connections and wealth. These guys (GOP mostly) thus got to avoid service but were not branded by name-calling like "pacifist," and "chicken." Ali knew where he stood on the war, and he convinced others he was right. Because he was.
24
Let Ali be Ali.
Joyce Carol Oates diminishes him by compressing him and sandpapering him to squeeze him into her politically correct racial narrative.
As for the claptrap about white male anxieties (spare us the sexist pop psychology), I don't think self-effacement was a peculiarly black thing at the time. The point is not that Ali transgressively adopted a role reserved for white athletes; it is that he utterly transcended any role at all except one of his own making. He did not see himself as a civil rights icon. He was simply and gloriously Muhammad Ali, whose tongue could sting more painfully than his fist.
Joyce Carol Oates diminishes him by compressing him and sandpapering him to squeeze him into her politically correct racial narrative.
As for the claptrap about white male anxieties (spare us the sexist pop psychology), I don't think self-effacement was a peculiarly black thing at the time. The point is not that Ali transgressively adopted a role reserved for white athletes; it is that he utterly transcended any role at all except one of his own making. He did not see himself as a civil rights icon. He was simply and gloriously Muhammad Ali, whose tongue could sting more painfully than his fist.
12
I was a young boy when Ali was making the news...and I immediately took to him. The way he was upsetting the older white males around me was seductive, because even then I couldn't figure out why they outright hated non-whites. I was slowly realizing that the problem was not with the minorities they were cursing and always speaking so dismissively of - but with the men themselves. They clearly had problems, that as a young boy I couldn't identify.
And when he refused the draft, which was the single most divisive issue of the time, it taught me an early lesson about standing strong for ones morals/ethics over money, or bowing to the status quo. (Speaker Ryan would do well to emulate Ali.)
Muhammad Ali was The Greatest - but boxing was just his platform for being great in so many other ways. I hope more people, especially the youth, look deeper at his legacy, and take away some of Ali's life lessons.
We'll miss you Mr Ali. You truly changed the world and many peoples lives.
And when he refused the draft, which was the single most divisive issue of the time, it taught me an early lesson about standing strong for ones morals/ethics over money, or bowing to the status quo. (Speaker Ryan would do well to emulate Ali.)
Muhammad Ali was The Greatest - but boxing was just his platform for being great in so many other ways. I hope more people, especially the youth, look deeper at his legacy, and take away some of Ali's life lessons.
We'll miss you Mr Ali. You truly changed the world and many peoples lives.
41
In the process of memorializing Muhammad Ali we tend to forget a few things. Boxing is a violent sport--and the long term health of boxers and other athletes who sustain blows to the head is not good. Secondly, the original Cassius Marcellus Clay was an abolitionist, and something seems to have gotten lost in translation (if "Clay" was Ali's name because it was the planter's name, I get it, but freedmen sometimes took on the surnames of men they admired). Most importantly, where are we in terms of what was begun with the Civil Rights movement? Where are we in terms of creating a climate of tolerance and peace? Are our troops gainfully employed in a global-wide effort to provide clean drinking water for humanity (thereby preventing future mass migrations or worse), or is our military promoting violence? Boxing is literal and a metaphor for violence--American violence. Against our own, against people we consider enemies. But I don't blame the boxers. Ali did what he could--a decent soul in a bad time.
2
Integrity. Decency. Self-respect. Perspective. Courage. Truth-telling. Elegance. Beauty. Of these, integrity most of all.
12
Most people who work for corporations are expert at going along to get along. They wouldn't want to jeopardize even a slim chance of a promotion or raise or being described as 'not a team player' on a performance review by talking truth to power. In contrast, Muhammed Ali sacrificed millions of dollars, prime years of his talent, and withstood years of outrage by the morally oblivious public and power structure until he prevailed on principle before the Supreme Court. (And besides that, he was absolutely captivating.)
8
What a uniquely great human being was Muhammad Ali.
He exposed institutional America's sham morality for the societal fraud that it was and remains to this day as we witness the present presidential election cycle.
He was a mix of unparalleled athletic prowess and bravery, mixed with playfulness and a sense of humanity, even when verbally assaulting Joe Frazier one could sense the playfulness in his banter, Ali was not mean spirited at heart, he would not try to injure an opponent when he had that man down, unlike what we see in today's MMA fighting for example.
Ali was right about Vietnam, right about American racial injustice and hypocrisy, pretty much right about American society and culture on all points he addressed. He's the epitome of being free and brave, in spite of a society and it's government that wanted to criminalize him for being free and brave.
He exposed institutional America's sham morality for the societal fraud that it was and remains to this day as we witness the present presidential election cycle.
He was a mix of unparalleled athletic prowess and bravery, mixed with playfulness and a sense of humanity, even when verbally assaulting Joe Frazier one could sense the playfulness in his banter, Ali was not mean spirited at heart, he would not try to injure an opponent when he had that man down, unlike what we see in today's MMA fighting for example.
Ali was right about Vietnam, right about American racial injustice and hypocrisy, pretty much right about American society and culture on all points he addressed. He's the epitome of being free and brave, in spite of a society and it's government that wanted to criminalize him for being free and brave.
7
That a poor black man living in segregated 1960s America would rise from these circumstances to become the most famous, recognizable man on the planet -- surpassing in that respect even the heroic Neil Armstrong and his cohort -- is a story that is the stuff of fiction. He was first and foremost a terrific boxer, with the courage of a lion. My dear departed mother was delighted at his poetic humor and I was inspired by his refusal to be drafted -- a fate which had befallen both my older brothers and shortly awaited me (fortunately my lottery number was high and the war ended). It is truly impossible to impart to anyone who did not live through those days of social turmoil, gruesome war coverage seen daily on the evening news, riots in major cities, assassinations, and vital, crazy and wonderful music, what Muhammad Ali meant to it all. It is hard to conceive that such a towering figure may never again exist. We've lost perhaps the last true hero this country had.
11
I don't believe any misogynist can be called "great." As I've suggested before, if evaluators of greatness put as their first condition a man's attitudes toward and relationships with women the look of history and biography would be vastly different.
4
He was a great boxer. End of story.
He was also a draft dodger, a convert to a religion that had enslaved his African brothers and sisters for centuries, a braggart, and not as good a poet as he thought he was.
When will all this adulation finally end?
He was also a draft dodger, a convert to a religion that had enslaved his African brothers and sisters for centuries, a braggart, and not as good a poet as he thought he was.
When will all this adulation finally end?
9
Bill Clinton, J. Danforth Quayle, Dick Cheney, George W. Bush and Donald J. Trump were draft dodgers of a sort. What does that say about their character?
And, your opinion on Ali's poetry is just that, your opinion, with all due respect.
When will the adulation of all of these men end???
And, your opinion on Ali's poetry is just that, your opinion, with all due respect.
When will the adulation of all of these men end???
5
I despise boxing and recoil from those who watch it. However, I greatly admire the Vietnam War "draft dodgers" who refused to participate in that murderous crime against humanity. I will always respect Muhammad Ali for his brave stance against the war, even though I can't fathom his sport.
4
As Kathleen (below) points out, Cassius Clay was NOT a slave name. Cassius Clay's father (Cassius Clay Sr) was named after this abolitionist.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassius_Marcellus_Clay_(politician)
But Clay (later Ali), was making a political point.
Our traditional culture values many things including humility and modesty. The young Clay/Ali didn't care about these. which was what "we" initially found shocking. However, Ali, in addition to his fighting prowess, possessed beauty, intelligence, wit, and charm. I think that was unusual, amazing, and captivating. Ali could do no wrong. His stance against the war and the draft was principled, and he took his punishment unbending. That's another traditional virtue.
There seems to be another character around now who shoots his mouth off and thinks he's the greatest. We could forgive this hubris in Ali because of his other qualities, but really, Americans don't like characters who think too much of themselves.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassius_Marcellus_Clay_(politician)
But Clay (later Ali), was making a political point.
Our traditional culture values many things including humility and modesty. The young Clay/Ali didn't care about these. which was what "we" initially found shocking. However, Ali, in addition to his fighting prowess, possessed beauty, intelligence, wit, and charm. I think that was unusual, amazing, and captivating. Ali could do no wrong. His stance against the war and the draft was principled, and he took his punishment unbending. That's another traditional virtue.
There seems to be another character around now who shoots his mouth off and thinks he's the greatest. We could forgive this hubris in Ali because of his other qualities, but really, Americans don't like characters who think too much of themselves.
6
During my well-spent youth I had the opportunity to interview Floyd Paterson for the local cable TV station (1973). When asked about "taking a punch" that great champion said that a boxer should avoid "taking a punch" as much as possible. Unfortunately the exploitation of Mr. Ali during his 2nd career did not extend that philosophy.
Mohammad Ali is a hero for his unwavering stance against the Vietnam war. May he rest in peace.
Mohammad Ali is a hero for his unwavering stance against the Vietnam war. May he rest in peace.
3
When I was growing up in an Italian American section of the Bronx in the 1960s, all you had to do to start an argument on almost any subject it seemed was to mention this man's name.
But there is no doubt that the boxers of that era, a time when heavy weight title fights were shown on free broadcast TV, were true craftsmen of their sport.
But there is no doubt that the boxers of that era, a time when heavy weight title fights were shown on free broadcast TV, were true craftsmen of their sport.
3
Joyce may dream of "glossing out" the ugly details, but they are still there. He would have quit the ring long before the head died before they man.
1
Ali did and said some admirably things. He also did and said some stupid things.
I was a Vietnam Nam protestor, and applauded his stance on the war.
I was also an early civil rights activist, who felt his comments about white people were divisive.
And I was a 'practicing Agnostic' who found offensive his Nation Of Islam adherence to their bigoted anti-Semetic, anti-White racist utterances - which he refused to condemn.
Win some, lose some as they say. His combined attitudes have influenced the present for better and for worse, and he should be judged accordingly, which has not been the one-sided adulation heaped on him here.
I was a Vietnam Nam protestor, and applauded his stance on the war.
I was also an early civil rights activist, who felt his comments about white people were divisive.
And I was a 'practicing Agnostic' who found offensive his Nation Of Islam adherence to their bigoted anti-Semetic, anti-White racist utterances - which he refused to condemn.
Win some, lose some as they say. His combined attitudes have influenced the present for better and for worse, and he should be judged accordingly, which has not been the one-sided adulation heaped on him here.
26
please do not hold his Nation of Islam comments against him. Sixty years ago, blacks were segregated into poverty, death and random violence from whites with no protection from the government. The Nation of Islam was born in that environment and thrived because the police instead of protecting blacks, were one of the main groups victimizing blacks. We had no white institution we could turn to and so nationalism caught fire, for a brief time in the black community. Ali and Malcolm later repudiated the teachings of the NOI. Everyone knows how Ali loved Howard Cosell. Ali was an American and he is prototypical and an icon because he spoke freely. You need to be offended that the same racism that made fertile ground for the NOI is still there, oppressing black young men and teaching them no white power structure in America will defend them. The NOI was wrong. But please be fair, black American racism is a knee-jerk, uneducated response to white endemic, unending white American racism. If you hate the NOI, my prayers are not your business, but we can end young black boys getting racially tricked by marginalizing old white men who think their skin is a crown that entitles them to rule the world.
8
The Champ made me face my prejudice. My shame is that I approved of his not being granted conscientious objector status. Although I have changed--in part due to his example--I still carry that burden.
28
As a 65 year old white female I was never thrilled at the brutal sport of boxing which encompassed not only physical brutality but was a dirty sport in which managers and others financially abused the very men that took the killing blows.
Ali, however, transcended the sport and I have revered him from the moment I first put an older brother's Sports Illustrated cover ( of the young Clay) on my tween age bedroom wall.
It happened to coincide with the first time I realized males could be pretty, beautiful and boy was he.
Home from college ,
ike many in our neighborhood, I went to his house in Cherry Hill in the early seventies. I waited outside with my mother in the car and sat until he came outside holding one of his precious babies and shook each one of our hands.
Perhaps if he hadn't lost precious time during the peak age of his career because of corrupt government refusing to accept his honorable peaceful stance against a terrible war, he would not have continued seven or so more years and suffered from trauma induced Parkinson's.
If that were so, you would have seen an amazing icon become even more influential in the field of justice.
Even so, as one of his friend's recounted, one day as he was telling a sick child in the hospital that he was going to win his fight and "you are going to beat cancer" and the child answered"
"No, I am going to meet God and I am going to tell him that I know you".
Ali, however, transcended the sport and I have revered him from the moment I first put an older brother's Sports Illustrated cover ( of the young Clay) on my tween age bedroom wall.
It happened to coincide with the first time I realized males could be pretty, beautiful and boy was he.
Home from college ,
ike many in our neighborhood, I went to his house in Cherry Hill in the early seventies. I waited outside with my mother in the car and sat until he came outside holding one of his precious babies and shook each one of our hands.
Perhaps if he hadn't lost precious time during the peak age of his career because of corrupt government refusing to accept his honorable peaceful stance against a terrible war, he would not have continued seven or so more years and suffered from trauma induced Parkinson's.
If that were so, you would have seen an amazing icon become even more influential in the field of justice.
Even so, as one of his friend's recounted, one day as he was telling a sick child in the hospital that he was going to win his fight and "you are going to beat cancer" and the child answered"
"No, I am going to meet God and I am going to tell him that I know you".
45
According to Bob Costas, Ali's "slave name" was actually the name of a white abolitionist who was killed by a pro-slavery white man in 19th-century Kentucky, so that that name would have been rejected is ironic, but to each his own. I would add that some surnames borne by the descendants of slaves or by the descendants of free people of color are names passed down from their own white ancestors, and so are just as much their family names as others' family names.
10
By way of explanation, you make Ali's point all the more, that naming oneself is an important way to claim one's identity, without cultural approval by the dominant race. To have a white abolitionist's name, can still in effect be a "slave name." And it's true that today's surnames reflect some people's white ancestors who may not have benefited directly from owning slaves, many others' last names are a direct reflection of being claimed as chattel or raped by slave owners generations ago.
6
That is really interesting about the white abolitionist.
Regardless of the fact that the name was that of abolitionist, his name was not African, so it is still is a slave name. Also, keep in mind that those white ancestors were those who enslaved and owned us.
Please stop trying to water down and whitewash our truth and this man's legacy.
Please stop trying to water down and whitewash our truth and this man's legacy.
4
This article beautifully relates the arc of Ali's long life, for better and worse. Thank you.
19
Muhammad Ali effortlessly commanded respect from folks that everyone said could never be respected. I saw this with my own eyes, back in the mid-1970s. When I was a little boy, my summer day camp was invited to the Superdome to watch Muhammad Ali give an exhibition for the children of New Orleans, whom he knew could never afford to come to see him at his fights. The kids that showed up to the Superdome were considered the worst of the worst kids in the city, behaviorally. These were the written off kids, that could never be instructed in class, and their futures were all jail cells.
When Muhammad Ali showed up in the center of the Superdome, these kids jumped from their seats, leaped over barricades and walls. They ignored please by their chaperones and charged across the open football field, over to Muhammad Ali's boxing ring, in order to get a better view. The police, the management of the Superdome, and security begged for everyone to return to their seats, but they were ignored. When Muhammad Ali told these so-called unruly kids to return to their seats over the P.A. system, they all obeyed, snapped to attention and quickly dispersed to their seats like well disciplined soldiers. I said to myself, "who is this man?"
When Muhammad Ali showed up in the center of the Superdome, these kids jumped from their seats, leaped over barricades and walls. They ignored please by their chaperones and charged across the open football field, over to Muhammad Ali's boxing ring, in order to get a better view. The police, the management of the Superdome, and security begged for everyone to return to their seats, but they were ignored. When Muhammad Ali told these so-called unruly kids to return to their seats over the P.A. system, they all obeyed, snapped to attention and quickly dispersed to their seats like well disciplined soldiers. I said to myself, "who is this man?"
115
Sugar Ray Robinson, Elvis, and Jimi Hendrix all were drafted. Rocky Bleier volunteered. Jack Johnson, Sonny Liston, and Sugar Ray were not "quiet." Indeed, Joyce has a wildly vivid imagination.
Jackie Robinson & Ali, the most important U.S. athletes of the twentieth century.
38
I would add Henry Aaron to that short list.
2
And Babe Ruth, who made the athlete important.
Ali made the most eloquent statement anyone ever made about the Vietnam war when he said he had no quarrel with the Vietcong: "no Vietcong ever called me a N---". His deep sense of injustice that permeates American society is something we still all need to heed.
86
Of the millions of words written about Ali since his death, these are--like the boxer himself--the greatest. But then Ms. Oates is one of our greatest writers, so I wouldn't expect anything but the best.
36
Among the appreciations of Ali and Oates' writing here, I see some bitterness towards Ali in these comments, which is certainly to be expected. Ali did and said many things I was unhappy with, but the people who want to tell us he was not someone to admire for courage are never going to have an answer for this question: Why do people love him and venerate him, despite the US press, of the time when he was controversial, telling us how bad he was, and how bad his associates were, how bad he was to claim his name. Keep writing those comments if you like, folks, and have whatever feelings you want, but the people of the world and this country will continue to love him. Maybe you should think a little more about why. Here's a hint: the words principle, love of God (that's usually considered a good thing), courage.
22
And yet, I always respected Joe Frazier, in part because he embodied so much of what Ali at times arrogantly seemed to disdain. Two men of contrasting personalities, two greats.
12
It was easy for Frazier; he had a draft deferment because he was a father.
3
Graciousness and humility are always appreciated. Last week marked the 75th anniversary of Lou Gehrig's death. His farewell speech on 4 July 1939 is still regarded as one of the most eloquent and memorable moments in sport history.
7
A real sense of loss at the death of a real hero for his integrity, his intelligence and his fearlessness. He will always inspire us to do our best and to love humanity. Praise to Allah.
6
Ali spoke truth to power. His power was not so much in his formidable arms but in a spirit that would not be subjugated. He belongs among the greatest.
22
Ali hated white people. He hated black people that liked white people. Why are we putting this man on a pedastal? I thought racism was adhorent to most people. What he said about interracial relationships was disgusting. I suppose we can make exuses for any behavior if it coniencides with our belief systems.
8
I wasn't alive during Ali's days and learned most of what I know about him in a course on race in film. The cult of personality that surrounds Mohammad Ali astonishes me. Yes, he inspired many people, black and non-black, but he was very flawed as well. Many people's unquestioning and inflexible adulation of him requires some degree of suspension of critical thought.
1
He didn't hate white people. What he hated was second-class citizenship for black citizens.
7
If as you claim, Ali hated white people, it would have been because he was a descendant of slaves. Put yourself in his position and then examine your feelings.
But most white people who hate black people have no such just reason for their animosity, other than just tribal, free-floating fear of "people of color."
But most white people who hate black people have no such just reason for their animosity, other than just tribal, free-floating fear of "people of color."
1
What a wonderful column. It is such a pleasure to read what a writer of equal stature has to say about Muhammad Ali. Clearly, I am a fan of both.
One sentence in Oates's column stands out as perhaps the great line of our time. "The heart of the champion is this: One never repudiates one’s deepest values, one never gives in."
The first people that came to my mind were Senator John McCain and House Speaker Paul Ryan. These men, important, powerful, and accomplished have, in my mind, sold their spiritual character, as Oates says, to Trumpism for Republican party unity and re-election. The real pity is perhaps Senator McCain was very much like Ali in his youth and as a young man Mr. Ryan can't measure up to Ali. Both men today faced the challenge and both men failed.
One sentence in Oates's column stands out as perhaps the great line of our time. "The heart of the champion is this: One never repudiates one’s deepest values, one never gives in."
The first people that came to my mind were Senator John McCain and House Speaker Paul Ryan. These men, important, powerful, and accomplished have, in my mind, sold their spiritual character, as Oates says, to Trumpism for Republican party unity and re-election. The real pity is perhaps Senator McCain was very much like Ali in his youth and as a young man Mr. Ryan can't measure up to Ali. Both men today faced the challenge and both men failed.
31
And we might well ask whether the United States has repudiated its own deepest values or simply affirmed what was inherent from the moment of our founding -- will we devolve further into more corporatism and plutocracy in the ruse of "free market capitalism" or remember and assert those more "inalienable rights"?
1
Tom I whole heartedly agree with all your words! Thank you! And thank you Joyce Carol Oates, whose books I have enjoyed throughout the decades.
What a difference between two men. Ali had the courage of his convictions at the age of 22 and McCain cannot stand up for decency at the age of 79.
Ali gave up his career at a time when his physical assets were at their peak, never knowing then whether he'd ever be allowed to box professionally; and McCain cannot give up his necrotic grasp on power even after 5 terms in the Senate.
Ali gave up his career at a time when his physical assets were at their peak, never knowing then whether he'd ever be allowed to box professionally; and McCain cannot give up his necrotic grasp on power even after 5 terms in the Senate.
21
Ali was the very definition of resilience ---aside from his ability to hold up physically, how he withstood the mental torment brought on by resisting, what we now know, was a very stupid war, is beyond comprehension.
12
Ali was always a hero to those in the anti-establishment during the sixties. White students, anti-war protesters, warriors against poverty, boxing enthusiasts, so on. When he refused to cooperate with the draft, many other draft eligible youths of all hues were encouraged to oppose a senseless, unwinable war. We recognized him for the hero that he seemed destined to become. Truly a Christ figure in my mind, right down to the false accusations, rigged trial, unjust punishment...then redemption. Redemption for him and all who loved and believed in him. Ali never disappointed his fans.
7
For once, a meaningful editorial:
"In a gesture of sheer pettiness the State Department took away his passport so that he couldn’t fight outside the country."
"Yet he’d never given in. The heart of the champion is this: One never repudiates one’s deepest values, one never gives in."
I'd say by these very accurate measures, that Edward Snowden is, as many of us feel, a modern day champion who not only did not repudiate his values, but acted on them when 60,000 fellow employees would not. For that he was condemned by our craven and criminal politicians and the government Constitutional rights violators they protect. And yet, the NY Times wants us all to vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton. I would suggest that the "newspaper of record" be referred to as "the newspaper of the absurd" from now on.
"In a gesture of sheer pettiness the State Department took away his passport so that he couldn’t fight outside the country."
"Yet he’d never given in. The heart of the champion is this: One never repudiates one’s deepest values, one never gives in."
I'd say by these very accurate measures, that Edward Snowden is, as many of us feel, a modern day champion who not only did not repudiate his values, but acted on them when 60,000 fellow employees would not. For that he was condemned by our craven and criminal politicians and the government Constitutional rights violators they protect. And yet, the NY Times wants us all to vote for Hillary Rodham Clinton. I would suggest that the "newspaper of record" be referred to as "the newspaper of the absurd" from now on.
12
@Independent
Edward Snowden fled the U.S., Muhammed Ali did not, although jail was a real possibility for him. Snowden is no champion for me.
Edward Snowden fled the U.S., Muhammed Ali did not, although jail was a real possibility for him. Snowden is no champion for me.
1
This is a very nice column and I was not aware of what he went through. I am however getting extremely tired about the rant against the "white man". Most. i not all the white men and women alive today, had nothing to do with all the racism going on during those times. Stroking the fans of hatred against them all the time leads to riots and a host of unnecessary ugly things.
6
@Mytwocents
There are many whites, still alive today, who participated in redlining and block busting, so don't be so quick to absolve yourself and others of responsibility for racial discrimination.
There are many whites, still alive today, who participated in redlining and block busting, so don't be so quick to absolve yourself and others of responsibility for racial discrimination.
4
But they do have something to do with the perpetuation of the systemic racism that is still existent today, don't you think? Because if they didn't uphold it/allow it to be upheld in order to maintain their privilege, together with their black, brown, red and yellow brethren and sistren, white people would have successfully dismantled systemic racism decades (if not centuries) ago!
3
"What does it mean to say that a fighter has “heart”? By “heart” we don’t mean technical skill, nor even unusual strength and stamina and ambition; by “heart” we mean something like spiritual character."
Boxing is legalized assault and battery, a disgraceful spectacle on a par with cockfighting.
We can and should praise Ali's resistance to oppression, but the best way to honor him would be to leave the institutionalized brutality and oppression of prize fighting in the past.
Boxing is legalized assault and battery, a disgraceful spectacle on a par with cockfighting.
We can and should praise Ali's resistance to oppression, but the best way to honor him would be to leave the institutionalized brutality and oppression of prize fighting in the past.
42
Yes. It should not be called a sport that kills the brain and results in severe disability. Ali's courage and faith helped him throughout his life. Parkinson's tested them to the limit, you can be sure. His family's courage and faith is also a beacon to us. Young men and women torture themselves to achieve fame and wealth, only to find they might lose their minds or become paralyzed or wound someone they love when their deep depressions and brain damage sets in. As Mohammad Ali said, boxing was just a ways to the means. His greatness, to me, was his sense of beauty and humor, and intelligence. One of a kind. Totally unique. Would that there had been a different course for him to reveal his best.
How sadly ironic.
On a day when some of us remember the sacrifices of men who nobly and loyally answered the call seventy two years ago, notwithstanding most of them probably had "no quarrel with them Nazis", an op-ed piece glorifies a young man who refused the call. For those of that earlier period who had conscientious objections to fighting, there were noble alternatives, such as serving as a medic.
A great boxer adept at wisecracks, yes. A hero?
On a day when some of us remember the sacrifices of men who nobly and loyally answered the call seventy two years ago, notwithstanding most of them probably had "no quarrel with them Nazis", an op-ed piece glorifies a young man who refused the call. For those of that earlier period who had conscientious objections to fighting, there were noble alternatives, such as serving as a medic.
A great boxer adept at wisecracks, yes. A hero?
12
Certainly the right to protest is at least as American as our bloated military. Our job as Americans is not to say "my country right or wrong;" it is to stand up and be counted. Sad that so few did that during the run-up to the Iraq war, another colossal military folly. Had there been just one leader like Ali who had said "I got no quarrel with Saddam Hussein,"maybe others would have joined in. 72 years ago was an entirely different circumstance. Our country had been attacked by a country; our allies were being attacked daily by another country.
5
I'm not sure many people would equate the U.S.'s motives in Europe with those that drove it into Vietnam. Does your definition of heroism come down to doing whatever the government tells you?
5
Yes, a hero, because we went to Vietnam under false pretenses--Gulf Of Tonkin Resolution. A simple Google search will expose the lies that LBJ did that ended up sending over 58,000 American men and women to their deaths for an unjust war, to say nothing of being exposed to the defoliant Agent Orange, and this country refusing to compensate those that were wronged by either the defoliant or PTSD, being permanently maimed, while people like Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney avoided the conflict and got rich and into political office with no major repercussions at all.
Yes, Muhammad Ali is a hero, because he never cheered on America while being safe from the violence and stupidity of that useless war.
Yes, Muhammad Ali is a hero, because he never cheered on America while being safe from the violence and stupidity of that useless war.
7
In a nation born in inhumane African enslavement and nurtured in unequal Jim Crow Muhammad Ali was always the "white man's Negro" by malicious white supremacist American intent. Being a brutish gladiator for the entertainment of white people was one of the few avenues available outside of prison, urban ghettos and the military for black African American progress and dreams. Sports and entertainment were and are special game reserves for black and brown talent.
That Ali rebelled against the degradation and discrimination imposed on his race is inspiring and embarrassing at the same time. Muhammad Ali's individual heroic power and strength was unique. But there were and are millions of dusky hued Americans who have neither his courage nor podium nor talent nor power. Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice are all still dead unarmed black boys killed by armed white men. In the exalted Age of Obama there are more black Americans on welfare, in prison and unemployed than ever before.
Ali was the greatest. But America is not nearly as great in reality as it claims to be in rhetoric.
That Ali rebelled against the degradation and discrimination imposed on his race is inspiring and embarrassing at the same time. Muhammad Ali's individual heroic power and strength was unique. But there were and are millions of dusky hued Americans who have neither his courage nor podium nor talent nor power. Trayvon Martin, Jordan Davis, Michael Brown and Tamir Rice are all still dead unarmed black boys killed by armed white men. In the exalted Age of Obama there are more black Americans on welfare, in prison and unemployed than ever before.
Ali was the greatest. But America is not nearly as great in reality as it claims to be in rhetoric.
As the song goes, he certainly "took the blows" and did it his way. And he entertained and challenged and enlightened us along that way. Well done.
Great point in the tribute about his finest boxing years taken from him. I'd forgotten that. I never really thought much about his age when he was in some of his greatest and most brutal bouts, when he truly hung in there.
Great point in the tribute about his finest boxing years taken from him. I'd forgotten that. I never really thought much about his age when he was in some of his greatest and most brutal bouts, when he truly hung in there.
5
Oates is as great a writer as Ali was a fighter, but I hope that we as a society can get past the idea of boxing, mixed martial arts and the like as being a sport.
We put two human beings in an arena and cheer as they try to beat each other to death.
This has got to stop.
We put two human beings in an arena and cheer as they try to beat each other to death.
This has got to stop.
16
Ali had long ago transcended his own origins and his own specific identity. As he’d once said: “Boxing was nothing. It wasn’t important at all. Boxing was just meant as a way to introduce me to the world.”
Thank you Ms. Oates.
The above quote crystalizes the essence of Ali's world-renown public persona. Transcendence indeed was the essence of his greatness. From such humble beginnings evolved a towering human being who fired up the imagination of millions, especially young men of color across the world.
It is no coincidence that Ali found islamic teachings inspirational and grounding, as many other black men of his generation did. In his Autobiography and speeches Malcolm X summed up his own transcending journey from a self-destructive hustler to a world leader.
"You don't have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being."
Thank you Ms. Oates.
The above quote crystalizes the essence of Ali's world-renown public persona. Transcendence indeed was the essence of his greatness. From such humble beginnings evolved a towering human being who fired up the imagination of millions, especially young men of color across the world.
It is no coincidence that Ali found islamic teachings inspirational and grounding, as many other black men of his generation did. In his Autobiography and speeches Malcolm X summed up his own transcending journey from a self-destructive hustler to a world leader.
"You don't have to be a man to fight for freedom. All you have to do is to be an intelligent human being."
11
My dad, who was a card-carrying racist, loved Ali in spite of himself. Who couldn't? For me Ali represented a kind of intelligent power that was light on its feet and gorgeous to watch. In fact, during the last year, I've been watching videos of him to see if I can integrate some of his footwork and control of distance into my own sport. So, as luck would have it, I think about Ali most days. And will as long as I'm on my feet trying to outsmart an opponent with some grace and good sportsmanship.
12
Gerald, I cannot think of a better way to describe the power and meaning of this incredible life, than your statement about your father.
1
Ali was the most significant person of the twentieth century. Part of it is being the right person at a historically significant time. The most remarkable facet is Ali's raw courage, and unshakable beliefs, in confronting racism and American societal norms along with opponents in the ring. Those under 60 cannot fathom the turmoil and transformation throughout America from 1960 to 1975.
9
One point, in your list :
"the greater the black boxer (Joe Louis, Archie Moore, Ezzard Charles),etc. "the more urgent...role of caution and restraint.
I think you've overlooked Jack Johnson. Like Ali, he was never any "white man's Negro". They even passed a law (the Mann Act) to prevent Johnson from marrying/having affairs with white women.
Just to add some further perspective, when Ali was born, in 1942, the US Military was still segregated. It wasn't until 1948 when Truman got Executive Order 9981 through and the US Military (fighting for universal "freedom") permitted people of color to serve with the white folk. Why would Ali want to join an organization like that? Why would anyone? I profoundly remember the day in November, 1971, when I had to register-they were still conscripting people then- for the draft. It was a truly frightening moment knowing that, by the chance of a lottery, I might have to become human fodder, in a war that I felt was immoral, and wrong. My number wasn't chosen, for which I remain grateful. To paraphrase Ali, "no Viet Cong ever called me K**e."
I also saw Ali fight, live, in New Orleans, when he won back the title, beating Leon Spinks. That was a great moment.
I hope Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld, Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh and all others like them, who favor any war, as long as they (or their families) can stay safely removed from danger, think about how history will remember (them in contrast to Al)-they won't of course, but I can still wish.
"the greater the black boxer (Joe Louis, Archie Moore, Ezzard Charles),etc. "the more urgent...role of caution and restraint.
I think you've overlooked Jack Johnson. Like Ali, he was never any "white man's Negro". They even passed a law (the Mann Act) to prevent Johnson from marrying/having affairs with white women.
Just to add some further perspective, when Ali was born, in 1942, the US Military was still segregated. It wasn't until 1948 when Truman got Executive Order 9981 through and the US Military (fighting for universal "freedom") permitted people of color to serve with the white folk. Why would Ali want to join an organization like that? Why would anyone? I profoundly remember the day in November, 1971, when I had to register-they were still conscripting people then- for the draft. It was a truly frightening moment knowing that, by the chance of a lottery, I might have to become human fodder, in a war that I felt was immoral, and wrong. My number wasn't chosen, for which I remain grateful. To paraphrase Ali, "no Viet Cong ever called me K**e."
I also saw Ali fight, live, in New Orleans, when he won back the title, beating Leon Spinks. That was a great moment.
I hope Dick Cheney, Rumsfeld, Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh and all others like them, who favor any war, as long as they (or their families) can stay safely removed from danger, think about how history will remember (them in contrast to Al)-they won't of course, but I can still wish.
7
As the 4th boy in a tough Irish family, fighting came natural. I was the underdog, always. Ali was also, he fought for ME...And he had a mouth to back him up.
THAT war was crazy. Took a cousin almost took my brother, other cousins went and were shot. Times were crazy scared. ALI said what many people didn't." NO".
I never whupped my brothers, but ALI helped me keep my spirit alive. To this day I am grateful. Not many men I"ve loved. ALI ALI ALI, go get em' champ
THAT war was crazy. Took a cousin almost took my brother, other cousins went and were shot. Times were crazy scared. ALI said what many people didn't." NO".
I never whupped my brothers, but ALI helped me keep my spirit alive. To this day I am grateful. Not many men I"ve loved. ALI ALI ALI, go get em' champ
1
Wonderfully written.
As a white man and a true believer in the greatness and shared sacrifice of America, I was always appalled by Clay's refusal to fight in Vietnam. But with age and wisdom I now understand the things that Joyce Carol Oates writes about. That Ali's greatest greatness was proclaiming loudly, "I am the greatest!"
He would not be the old establishment's "boy" or say "yessuh". He was the physical manifestation of MLK's dream. Yet, he was incredibly gentle and kind to every stranger that stopped by to say hello. He was the greatest.
As a white man and a true believer in the greatness and shared sacrifice of America, I was always appalled by Clay's refusal to fight in Vietnam. But with age and wisdom I now understand the things that Joyce Carol Oates writes about. That Ali's greatest greatness was proclaiming loudly, "I am the greatest!"
He would not be the old establishment's "boy" or say "yessuh". He was the physical manifestation of MLK's dream. Yet, he was incredibly gentle and kind to every stranger that stopped by to say hello. He was the greatest.
11
I lived outside Philadelphia and Clay/Ali was an idol to my circle of white suburban friends. The license suspension was nothing more than the narrow mindedness of the country. His response and acceptance of the punishment made him a model of the anti war movement. His boxing was our boxing the ridicule and hypocrisy of a country going down the wrong path. They took three years from him (he would have beaten Frazer) and he prevailed.
He lived off of City Line Ave., Overbrook section of Philadelphia, and my friends would go to his house. Ali would engage them and exchange stories and held one of their children. As much as he represented the civil rights/anti war movement; he will always be part of a small group of middle class white kids looking for the truth. The greatest!
He lived off of City Line Ave., Overbrook section of Philadelphia, and my friends would go to his house. Ali would engage them and exchange stories and held one of their children. As much as he represented the civil rights/anti war movement; he will always be part of a small group of middle class white kids looking for the truth. The greatest!
8
Ironic isn’t it, that throughout the racial history of America, whenever Black men exhibited the same qualities of resistance and courage in the fight for justice, liberty, and freedom – the qualities that whites so easily bestow upon those they honor—in a white supremacist society, the first response was to destroy them, either by violence, restricting their movements, or through incarceration.
Thank you Champ for being in the tradition of David Walker, Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, Gabriel Prosser, Malcom X and so many other brave, conscious, and courageous warriors who did not achieve iconic status.
Thank you Champ for being in the tradition of David Walker, Nat Turner, Denmark Vesey, Gabriel Prosser, Malcom X and so many other brave, conscious, and courageous warriors who did not achieve iconic status.
12
It's 2016 and the cruelty and stupidity of the sport are so bad it should have been banished a long time ago.
Oates providing us with blow-by-blow descriptions of the fights as if it were glorious just adds to its violence and is easy, weak prose.
There was so much more to Ali than his boxing and so much more to our reaction to him.
Oates loses on points...
Oates providing us with blow-by-blow descriptions of the fights as if it were glorious just adds to its violence and is easy, weak prose.
There was so much more to Ali than his boxing and so much more to our reaction to him.
Oates loses on points...
3
I'm too young to have seen any of his fights live, yet old enough to appreciate my world as a black man in America is better because of him. He gave us all the intangible; fearlessness. He showed black men it's ok to have self-esteem, to display your confidence and charisma. He destroyed stereotypes held by White America at the time, re-depicting us as complex, multi-faceted individuals. His stance on religion and war illustrated ethics, philosophy, and a steadfastness that is unrivaled by any of the celebrities we have today. He had twitter-worthy quotables with the massive amount of followers long before the technology ever existed. Yet wise enough to say something wise, profound and thought-provoking with that megaphone. You will be missed, but we live through your message. Rest in peace Champ.
7
Actually, there were, before Ali, basically two ways to be a famous Negro: You could go the Jack Johnson route, playing up the negative stereotypes about strong black men by living and dressing flamboyantly, chasing women (especially white women) and throwing your money around, or you could go the Joe Louis route and be modest, quiet and humble, appeasing white anxieties and creating a distinction between the "good" and the "bad" black man.
Ali made a third path- one that did not take white expectations into consideration at all. While of course he was not perfect and continued to struggle with his own issues throughout his life- multiple marriages and relationships, exploitation and bad advice form the people who were close to him, continuing to fight long after it was wise, he stayed true to himself. How many international stars in any field of endeavor today can say the same?
Ali made a third path- one that did not take white expectations into consideration at all. While of course he was not perfect and continued to struggle with his own issues throughout his life- multiple marriages and relationships, exploitation and bad advice form the people who were close to him, continuing to fight long after it was wise, he stayed true to himself. How many international stars in any field of endeavor today can say the same?
71
Ms. Oates is acknowledged as a great author but the theme of the article that Ali was not the "White Man's Negro" is a misguided distortion of history. It is true that large numbers of white men were prejudiced and did not like Ali because he was black, refused to go to Viet Nam, and took on a Muslim name. It is equally true that large numbers of white males accepted him as the great fighter that he was and that white women's attitudes were proportionally the same one way or the other. In other words, what people thought of Ali was not the product of whiteness or maleness. The implication by MS. Oates to the contrary is simply an untrue and smug conclusion about American men. After all, white males on the Supreme Court were the ones who in ruling after ruling led the assault on segregation, and white males and white females in both the press and government followed suit.
I was there and I remember. When Cassius Clay changed his name to Mohammed Ali and became Muslim, like Malcolm X before him, I was left to wonder why. After all, the Africans who had been sold to European slavers out of African ports had been done so by other Africans and Muslims. I, however, came to understand that their anger was only as immense as the atrocities their predecessors had been subjected to, that this was America and the expression of that anger was their business, and that Ali was great boxer.
I was there and I remember. When Cassius Clay changed his name to Mohammed Ali and became Muslim, like Malcolm X before him, I was left to wonder why. After all, the Africans who had been sold to European slavers out of African ports had been done so by other Africans and Muslims. I, however, came to understand that their anger was only as immense as the atrocities their predecessors had been subjected to, that this was America and the expression of that anger was their business, and that Ali was great boxer.
4
On its face, Ali's claim to be a conscientious objector bordered on the absurd. Few were exempted from the draft for CO reasons, and those who were had an established history of pacifism. Opposition to the Vietnam War was most definitely not enough to qualify as a CO in the 60's and everyone knew it. Avoiding the draft was a science. The claim of a boxer that he was exempt because Islam is a religion of peace and because he had no beef with the Vietcong was clearly a loser. The Supreme Court upheld Ali's claim on procedural grounds, not because he really was a CO.
But there is another way to look at Ali's claimed draft exemption. Everyone knew that people of privilege who knew people of influence were not being drafted. In that context, drafting Ali was ridiculous. The man was the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He was a man of unmatched stature. Sending Ali to fight this unjust war seemed like a political decision with racist overtones. Ali's draft exemption claim always struck me as a claim to the rights of privilege accorded the white elite. It was unfair but it was in accord with the way things worked. Ali was most definitely not a conscientious objector. In particular, his claim that Islam was a religion of peace was nonsense. But the reality was that white folks with Ali's status found ways to dodge the draft and Ali was entitled to do the same.
But there is another way to look at Ali's claimed draft exemption. Everyone knew that people of privilege who knew people of influence were not being drafted. In that context, drafting Ali was ridiculous. The man was the heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He was a man of unmatched stature. Sending Ali to fight this unjust war seemed like a political decision with racist overtones. Ali's draft exemption claim always struck me as a claim to the rights of privilege accorded the white elite. It was unfair but it was in accord with the way things worked. Ali was most definitely not a conscientious objector. In particular, his claim that Islam was a religion of peace was nonsense. But the reality was that white folks with Ali's status found ways to dodge the draft and Ali was entitled to do the same.
3
Elvis got drafted. I doubt they would have put Ali in combat, he would've been used for promotional purposes.
Dear Joyce,
You wrote a prose and I read it in a single breath.
A great obituary for a Great Boxer.
The best that I read.
Many thanks.
You wrote a prose and I read it in a single breath.
A great obituary for a Great Boxer.
The best that I read.
Many thanks.
20
Ali's approach to his life with his craft as a vehicle is worthy of emulation. He certainly increased the entertainment value of his profession. An often overlooked component of his skill are the indisposable partners of intellect, devotion and respect for his fans. As with boxing and other sports, this type of mind is rare in every other professio. Can one imagine having an Ali or two in the Conress and Senate of the USA? What about such thinking in Education, Law Enforcement and Religions? Ali and myself were teenagers when he came upon the World scene back in 1960. While following him for his remarkable and sometimes brutal displays of craft, it was difficult to escape his art form in confronting and provoking those he considered to be pompous. Among the many aspects of this outstanding man that will not be interred are these and the value of being unapologetically Black. Impossible to be marginalized when living, memories of him are now center stage and will remain so as fact and fable. Thank you!
3
Prince light.
1
The last classical boxer. In person, a gentle man who loved the young people who were glad to be in his presence. A man, a black man that was unbowed by the system. He was indeed The Greatest! Muhammad Ali.
8
No, the brave were soldiers from the inner city, people I was drafted with after I finished college. They served, fought and died. We were trained by brave, taught, strong NCOs, Black and White. Even with all the racial tension of the Vietnam war era everybody learned to get along. I learned more from that experience than anything I was taught in the university.
Muhammad Ali might have been a little more humble had he seen the true bravery and sacrifice that I saw in these common soldiers from the inner city that I was proud to be part of.
Muhammad Ali might have been a little more humble had he seen the true bravery and sacrifice that I saw in these common soldiers from the inner city that I was proud to be part of.
10
You don't see bravery in standing up for your principles instead of just "going along". I still consider myself a coward for allowing myself to be drafted. The brave, to me, are those who either volunteered for service or refused to be drafted.
5
Exactly right and it was the same many years later, when I served with other whites, blacks and hispanics in Afghanistan. We don't see color in the military; in the Army we're all "green." Lots of Americans had "no quarrel with them Vietcong," but had to serve anyway. It was our fight because our leaders made it our fight; right or wrong, when called, you serve, period - or you can go live somewhere else.
I was in the service too---thankfully during a time of peace, so I thank you for your service. However, I respectfully disagree with you due to the fact that LBJ sent us into a war that did not have to be fought.
Over 58,000 American men and women died for that "Gulf Of Tonkin Resolution" lie. Let the Bill Clintons and George W. Bushes of the world fight these wars if they want to start them, instead of using privilege to avoid the conflict, while working class men and women, and minorities, get the short end of the stick.
Over 58,000 American men and women died for that "Gulf Of Tonkin Resolution" lie. Let the Bill Clintons and George W. Bushes of the world fight these wars if they want to start them, instead of using privilege to avoid the conflict, while working class men and women, and minorities, get the short end of the stick.
2
I have never read such an orgy of praise for a man
who as great of a fighter as he might have been,
was also a brutal punisher of other human beings
and a braggart of unimaginable proportions.
his despicable race baiting of Joe Frazier, a man
of true dignity,as a gorilla and an uncle tom,is
conveniently forgotten and should not be.
great fighter,yes,great man,no.
who as great of a fighter as he might have been,
was also a brutal punisher of other human beings
and a braggart of unimaginable proportions.
his despicable race baiting of Joe Frazier, a man
of true dignity,as a gorilla and an uncle tom,is
conveniently forgotten and should not be.
great fighter,yes,great man,no.
17
Ali was a North Star. His celebrity among his predominately white audiences could have been far greater if he played the game. He refused. The courage he showed in the ring against bigger and meaner opponents was matched by his courage outside the ring with a sometimes extremely hostile public. I never remember him wavering, even slightly. When it came to living, Sinatra's song "My Way" seems like the perfect fit.
3
I'm sorry to hear of his passing. But other consciousness objectors whom opposed the war had to flee to Canada, only to be branded traitors and unpatriotic upon their return home. And they had to wait until Nixon gave them amnesty before they could return. Ali got off easy with a 3 year suspension from boxing, still lived in the United States and was able to sleep in his own bed, se his family and take advantage and enjoy all of the freedoms that those dying in Vietnam were fighting to keep as a right for him to have.
Sorry, this is not my definition of hero.
Those who served, whether they were killed or came home to America, THOSE guys are the real heros and who deserve multi page tributes in The NY Times, TV interviews, parades and statues.
Sorry, this is not my definition of hero.
Those who served, whether they were killed or came home to America, THOSE guys are the real heros and who deserve multi page tributes in The NY Times, TV interviews, parades and statues.
8
Heroes don't have to be forced to serve, do they?
They didn't have to flee to Canada, although I understand why they did. Ali stayed in the US and risked jail time. No small thing.
5
Yeah, real heroes go out and kill Vietnamese or anyone else there government asks them to even if there is no actual reason to do so.
2
I'm glad back in those days when I was able to see Ali fight there was no pay per view as it is today. I believe that by adopting the Muslim religion Ali unwittingly broadened his appeal around the world for the greater good of humanity.
4
He at first did not adopt the Muslim religion as you put it. If you mean Islam no he did not. He embraced the racist, hate filled "nation of islam" which was started by a man who was obviously disturbed and a con man who molested young girls. Hardly the "muslim religion".
Muhammad Ali never cow towed. He stood his ground. At the same time he did not hate. He hated the sin, not the sinner. I never felt that, if I had had the honor to know him, that he would have hated me because I am white. That's why he was not just A champion. He was MY champion.
13
Wouldn't it be great if President Obama could stand up for himself, and us, the way Ali did? Can you imagine Ali dealing with Congress? Just imagine.
Imagine… I was a fighter back in the days of Ali, as a matter of fact prior fighting professionally “for money” I fought as a welterweight on Company, Regimental and Divisional boxing teams, ending up with the 7th Army Boxing Team. On some boxing teams I was the only white guy, and believe me there wasn’t any forced self-effacement imposed on anyone.
Imagine… anxieties didn’t exist for fighters jumping into the ring in those days, the only anxieties we might have harbored at the time, was how long this fight was going to last. The only roiling or assuaging going on was the sense of personal indestructability, lets face it we weren’t bright enough to pondered the pesky thoughts pundits and some scribblers might suffer when rewriting history today.
Imagine… Ali changed the face of boxing, because he was a great boxer and had heart… a ‘big heart’ a term used in boxing to describe a fellow who can take a punch, it has nothing to do with religion, forced self-effacement or presumptuous notions. Ain’t life grand in Pixie Hollow? WFR
Imagine… anxieties didn’t exist for fighters jumping into the ring in those days, the only anxieties we might have harbored at the time, was how long this fight was going to last. The only roiling or assuaging going on was the sense of personal indestructability, lets face it we weren’t bright enough to pondered the pesky thoughts pundits and some scribblers might suffer when rewriting history today.
Imagine… Ali changed the face of boxing, because he was a great boxer and had heart… a ‘big heart’ a term used in boxing to describe a fellow who can take a punch, it has nothing to do with religion, forced self-effacement or presumptuous notions. Ain’t life grand in Pixie Hollow? WFR
3
Could it be that after so loudly and repeatedly proclaiming he was 'the greatest' as a very young man, Muhammad Ali felt he had no alternative but to go on, at whatever Christ-like cost to his spirit and his flesh, to show the whole world that what he'd said about himself was nothing less than the absolute truth?
2
Yes, RIP Muhammad Ali. You are the best and will always be...
6
Ali's combinations of combat and physical perfection combined with his , at times , sparkling wit gave him room to maneuver that boys and girls have always dreamt about .
His swift legs and mercurial wit were pounded by the drums of time and opponents fists , however his sense of fun never seemed to leave . I have said goodbye to many things so far , it hurts a little to say goodbye to Ali .
Goodbye .
His swift legs and mercurial wit were pounded by the drums of time and opponents fists , however his sense of fun never seemed to leave . I have said goodbye to many things so far , it hurts a little to say goodbye to Ali .
Goodbye .
29
Praise be to Allah for giving us such a stubborn, hard-headed (both figuratively and literally) and compassionate, cock-sure, absolutely brilliant, kind, magnificent man.
He spoke like a prophet of old, never pulling a punch when he decide to hurl one, never hurling one unless it was necessary to wake someone up -- or put them to sleep -- a man who suffered the little children, and their fathers and mothers, indeed women and of all races and faiths and no faiths and fools as well as the meek and mean, to come to him...
... Saint?
:)
That smile is Ali's.
He spoke like a prophet of old, never pulling a punch when he decide to hurl one, never hurling one unless it was necessary to wake someone up -- or put them to sleep -- a man who suffered the little children, and their fathers and mothers, indeed women and of all races and faiths and no faiths and fools as well as the meek and mean, to come to him...
... Saint?
:)
That smile is Ali's.
17
Saints don't father multiple children out of wedlock. Kind person, without question, excellent character? Not everyone will see it that way.
Over the weekend there were many comments to the effect that "if Ted Williams could serve, so could Ali." But World War II was a different war, a democratic war (with the exception of blacks, because the military was still segregated then), where a Bush from Kennebunkport or a Kennedy from Hyannis could serve alongside folks like my Dad from a South Carolina cotton mill village. The young Cassius Clay had to interrupt his career and go to the Supreme Court to defend his religious freedom, while many privileged of that generation legally avoided service altogether, or served in champagne platoons in the Guard. And many of those turn out to be chickenhawks, ever eager to send more poor young men off to fight and die for some equally unjust cause in some unjust war.
"We kill for oil, then we throw a party when we win
Some guy refuses to fight, and we call that the sin
but he's standing up for what he believes in
and that seems pretty damned American to me
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free.."
- Iris Demint
"We kill for oil, then we throw a party when we win
Some guy refuses to fight, and we call that the sin
but he's standing up for what he believes in
and that seems pretty damned American to me
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free.."
- Iris Demint
143
Iris Dement
@Kevin Brock,
You put "with the exception of blacks" in parenthesis in your comment. Why? That war wasn't, to use your description, democratic, if the troops were segregated, which they were. My late father served in WWII in a segregated military unit. Considering the discrimination he faced (and my mom, who's childhood was during that time) and how Ali protested against bigotry, that's no small thing.
I respect those who serve and have served our country, in uniform. I also respect those who conscientiously object as Ali did and as Bernie Sanders did. I don't know why people castigate those who do object to the prospect of killing or being killed for, as you put it "equally unjust cause in some unjust war."
6-6-16@12:47 pm
You put "with the exception of blacks" in parenthesis in your comment. Why? That war wasn't, to use your description, democratic, if the troops were segregated, which they were. My late father served in WWII in a segregated military unit. Considering the discrimination he faced (and my mom, who's childhood was during that time) and how Ali protested against bigotry, that's no small thing.
I respect those who serve and have served our country, in uniform. I also respect those who conscientiously object as Ali did and as Bernie Sanders did. I don't know why people castigate those who do object to the prospect of killing or being killed for, as you put it "equally unjust cause in some unjust war."
6-6-16@12:47 pm
1
What a beautiful piece of writing! I love Ali, and thought these things that you have expressed so wonderfully. He was a transcendent, inclusive personality and took us along for a marvelous ride.
24
I agree completely. Of all I've read about Ali's life and career, Ms. Oates' piece seems to say more about him than all the others. What she implies without putting in words is an irony: Ali's life and health were destroyed ironically in the ring through those brutal punches, as he worked so hard to free himself of white society's racist 'imprisonment' within American culture'. Thus, he did to himself what he seemingly, successfully resisted imposed by whites. As a Caucasian-physician, I understand too well what that meant to him neurologically and weep for his sacrifice. Shame on us! My epitaph: May your beautiful soul rest in eternal peace, Ali.
4
Muhammad Ali made two grave mistakes. The first was not retiring when he was in his prime to safeguard his health. The second was triggering the fad of changing one's name and converting to Islam.
5
Although greatly admired, no one flocked to beloved Ali's religion. However, the TV movie ROOTS made a lot of us revert to African names.
3
A mistake to believe in a religion? A mistake to change his name? Hubris and privilege on your part.
11
What a sad comment. Anyone changing their religion and accepting the requirements of their new religion is not a fad. It is simply following our right to choose our path to God and it should be respected.
People change religions all the time, it is simply a personal decision to be respected by others.
They banded Ali in his prime - of course he would come back after winning the court cases.
People change religions all the time, it is simply a personal decision to be respected by others.
They banded Ali in his prime - of course he would come back after winning the court cases.
2
He was all of the things you say he was, but no one mentions his sense of humour. I particularly enjoyed his clowning with Howard Cossell, his fiddling with Howard's wig. He and Howard had a genuine affection for each other.
21
For any faults that Cossell may have had, at the time Ali was vilified for changing his name, it was Howard Cossell who publicly defended him and used Ali's new name in his broadcasts.
9
Ms, Carol Oates,
I must say that this is one of the most beautiful pieces I have ever read.
You have captured the essence of a giant of a man whose life was so much larger than anything any of us could even imagine to aspire to.
Thank you.
I must say that this is one of the most beautiful pieces I have ever read.
You have captured the essence of a giant of a man whose life was so much larger than anything any of us could even imagine to aspire to.
Thank you.
61
Ali opened my eyes to decisions to be made about Vietnam; he showed me the importance of a religion; he introduced me to the issues of race in my country; he made me laugh; and he's made me cry. God Bless Champ. Peace be with you.
55
Muhammad Ali was a great boxer, one of the best if not the best. But his refusal to fight in the Vietnam War is one of his greatest gifts to mankind. Sure, he talked a lot, but he also walked the walk. He was willing to walk away from his career in his prime, at the height of his success. He showed the world what it meant to have goals and priorities that superseded money. We don't have people like that in public life today. We admire people like Donald Trump, a man who dodged the Draft by buying his way out of it; a man who is the total opposite of Muhammad Ali.
100
When Muhammad Ali stepped out of the ring, he literally stepped out of the box. In those days of segregation, Muhammad Ali asserted himself publicly; claiming beauty and greatness at a time when black men seldom displayed such confidence. Over the past several days, many articles and tributes have been written and spoken about Ali, interviews have been replayed, and stories depicting his courage, intelligence, humor and passion have been told. Our country and the world is a much richer place because of his humanity.
25
And now as the world media finishes with the "everything sounded the same" Prince" adoration.....we now shift to the "never fought anyone worth real salt" pugil-mouth M Ali. As modern American standards slip further into blindered darkness .... we really need to take a clearer look at those we venerate. The "heroes" of today ...... are plainly just not that
5
The "Bizarro" world is now reality. The political contest with the likely nominees has me singing "clowns to the left of me, jokers to my right..." Ali, however, whether or not you agree with all he did, all he said can be at least be considered a "hero" for one thing - sticking to his principles and walking his walk. Sure it may be somewhat mythologized, will be analyzed and taken apart, and put back together again. In an age of shapeshifters, someone truly solid is unique.
4
Smart, so beautiful, so brave. A natural leader who the knocks for an idea bigger than himself.
3
As pretty on the inside as he was on the outside. Now THAT is a rarity.
11
like most beloved public figures, we tend to overlook his failures, biases and history in favor of a softened version of their story aimed at shoring up the legend. His racial separatist history, positions on the evils of all whites and misogynistic beliefs are not place the context of his later life and impact on those that saw his positive attributes. If only we applied the same level of forgiveness to more of our public leaders and gave people an opportunity to change their views, we would have less rhetoric and more progress in society
5
• The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) used their "Tribute" to Ali to pointedly include a comment by "midget" Terrel, compared to Ali, denigrating Ali's allegiance to his beloved Muslim faith as "evil."
The BBC then went on to have Bill Clinton comment on and seemingly take ownership of Ali's epic Victory over the U.S. government and their Vietnam war.
Could the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) sink any lower, subtly or no, on the day of this great man's death?
The BBC then went on to have Bill Clinton comment on and seemingly take ownership of Ali's epic Victory over the U.S. government and their Vietnam war.
Could the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) sink any lower, subtly or no, on the day of this great man's death?
4
A boxer is always somebody's pet. Normally belonging to the promoter.
1
What did Ali do outside of athletics that warrants the high pedestal that his hagiographers have placed him? Read the interview he gave to Playboy magazine in 1976 and try telling people with a straight face that he was a man of wisdom.
Ali joined a murderous hate cult known as the Nation of Islam. Check out the documentary footage of that era. While Elijah Muhammad, Louis Farrakhan and others spewed the racial invective at NOI rallies, Ali was sitting in the front row cheering them on.
He managed to miss all of the major events of the Civil Rights era. Instead he was back in Chicago with his fellow cultists ridiculing Martin Luther King and others.
Exalting Ali for his courage in standing up to the government for resisting the draft doesn’t jive when courage was warranted in other episodes of his life. Ali remained loyal to the gangster hate-cult known as the Nation of Islam. Where was Ali’s courage and integrity in standing up to the NOI after Malcolm X’s murder? Probably in the same place it was when this “man of the people” accepted millions to fight in countries run by oppressive, murderous dictators.
Ali joined a murderous hate cult known as the Nation of Islam. Check out the documentary footage of that era. While Elijah Muhammad, Louis Farrakhan and others spewed the racial invective at NOI rallies, Ali was sitting in the front row cheering them on.
He managed to miss all of the major events of the Civil Rights era. Instead he was back in Chicago with his fellow cultists ridiculing Martin Luther King and others.
Exalting Ali for his courage in standing up to the government for resisting the draft doesn’t jive when courage was warranted in other episodes of his life. Ali remained loyal to the gangster hate-cult known as the Nation of Islam. Where was Ali’s courage and integrity in standing up to the NOI after Malcolm X’s murder? Probably in the same place it was when this “man of the people” accepted millions to fight in countries run by oppressive, murderous dictators.
12
I could understand why some blacks were drawn to the Nation of Islam. It was a time in which blacks were not only marginalized in our nation but brutalized by people who saluted the flag but did not agree with any of our great documents that were supposed to define the U.S. Many like Ali broke from the Nation of Islam and migrated to mainstream Islam. I could never quite understand the attraction of Islam, because Arab slave traders did the dirty work of enslaving Africans and bringing them to the coast where self-proclaiming Christians hauled them over on boats to the Western Hemisphere. But in the U.S. freedom of religion is enshrined in our Constitution. I salute Ali for standing up for his beliefs willing to pay the price for such actions. He also did much good for many.
5
What incredible bias against Ali's religion! He converted to Islam, not to the Nation of Islam. But NOI was and is a legitimate organization--of which Ali was a member and not a convert--that provides an outlet for black Americans to express anger and disappointment in their heritage as slaves brought to America to serve white America. Like your history or not, it is a totally legitimate protest. Your seeing only the politics of Ali's conversion misses the spirit of the unique American Ali was, someone who demonstrated courage, forgiveness, charity, love for mankind.
Your petty comment on the passing of "the greatest" demonstrates, on the one hand, the necessity of NOI in the USA and, on the other, your
failure to appreciate Ali's spiritual journey.
Your petty comment on the passing of "the greatest" demonstrates, on the one hand, the necessity of NOI in the USA and, on the other, your
failure to appreciate Ali's spiritual journey.
6
I watched Cassius Clay defeat Sonny Liston on TV. I saw his other fights in the 60's. I watched him scream out "I am the greatest" and strut around the ring in disdain of his opponents. The ordinary, even callow personality to which the author refers, is what I saw. It is the "jarring details" I observed as well.
The "public role" of great champions has most often been one of caution and restraint. Witness Bob Mathias, Jesse Owens, Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, Jim Thorpe, Jack Nicklaus, Bob Cousy, Sandy Koufax....the list goes on. Perhaps Clay/Ali deserves the dubious credit for changing our behavioral norms for champions. For this observer, Clay/Ali's talent in the ring is indisputable. His public persona was less than desirable.
The "public role" of great champions has most often been one of caution and restraint. Witness Bob Mathias, Jesse Owens, Roger Federer, Pete Sampras, Jim Thorpe, Jack Nicklaus, Bob Cousy, Sandy Koufax....the list goes on. Perhaps Clay/Ali deserves the dubious credit for changing our behavioral norms for champions. For this observer, Clay/Ali's talent in the ring is indisputable. His public persona was less than desirable.
9
Add Jacki Robinson, Hank Aaron, Roy Campanella, Walter Payton, Tiger Woods, Arthur Ashe, Pele, Roberto Clemente,...and how many others to the list of personally "restrained" and exemplary athletes...
Ms. Oates,
Your book "On Boxing" is one of the finest books on the "sport" of boxing, but more importantly, on the history of race and in a larger sense, on powerlessness in an American system supposedly designed to equalize power.
It changed my view of boxing and of the struggles of black men in the US. And poor people everywhere.
I believe it should be required reading in high schools and colleges. One of the best aspects are the epigrams to each chapter by famous American boxers. Each one of those brief quotes is a brutal epiphany.
Thank you, Ms. Oates.
Your book "On Boxing" is one of the finest books on the "sport" of boxing, but more importantly, on the history of race and in a larger sense, on powerlessness in an American system supposedly designed to equalize power.
It changed my view of boxing and of the struggles of black men in the US. And poor people everywhere.
I believe it should be required reading in high schools and colleges. One of the best aspects are the epigrams to each chapter by famous American boxers. Each one of those brief quotes is a brutal epiphany.
Thank you, Ms. Oates.
8
Wonderful tribute. Thank you.
3
Understand he was born during a time of extreme racism, but the Nation of Islam was, and is, an openly racist organization. Times should probably point that out
10
He left the Nation of Islam and embraced main stream Islam. A long time ago. Wake up
I remember Cassius Clay, who refused to serve in the army, right after Elvis did. He was part of a counter culture that hates as much as the racists they despise.
Beating someone else for money? Once again, it used to be a male domain, so I don't care.
Beating someone else for money? Once again, it used to be a male domain, so I don't care.
2
So its Ok to kill in the ring for a living. Just don't kill for your government outside of the ring. Its OK to be a tool for the nation of Islam, standing up for racism against blacks. But don't let anyone know you spoke at KK rallyies calling Joe Frazier an UGLY gorilla after he supported you financially throughout your suspension. A great man. I think not.
6
I don't think this is fair to Joe Louis, a hometown Detroit favorite. His restraint in the ring and out was style, and it was a winning style. He had class. It was powerful.
Ali existed in the Vietnam Era. It was an entirely different environment from WW2.It was not just Ali, it was the stage he was on, the era itself. He rose to the occasion.
Ali could have chosen to do as Elvis Presley had done in that earlier era. From the inside he'd have been acting in and on a military in which blacks were drafted in disproportionate numbers. He'd have had an audience of huge importance that way too. He'd have had more press conferences and attention even than he did going to jail.
Going to jail in protest of Vietnam was a choice taken by many others than Ali. It was an approach, but not the only approach. Kerry did not go to jail.
Ali had a huge impact, and was brave to do it. He was not wrong to do the same as many other good men did in the same era. He just did it better, more high profile, made it count for more. Very Ali.
He could have, almost certainly would have had a huge impact the other way too. It might even have been more of an impact. Fight for the Army, then get elected to Congress? March beside MLK, Jr., then in his place?
Ali could have taken the NAACP to new heights it never reached post-MLK.
I don't say this as criticism, but as comment that a man as great as Ali had many choices that could have led to great things.
They do not reflect badly on Joe Louis.
Ali existed in the Vietnam Era. It was an entirely different environment from WW2.It was not just Ali, it was the stage he was on, the era itself. He rose to the occasion.
Ali could have chosen to do as Elvis Presley had done in that earlier era. From the inside he'd have been acting in and on a military in which blacks were drafted in disproportionate numbers. He'd have had an audience of huge importance that way too. He'd have had more press conferences and attention even than he did going to jail.
Going to jail in protest of Vietnam was a choice taken by many others than Ali. It was an approach, but not the only approach. Kerry did not go to jail.
Ali had a huge impact, and was brave to do it. He was not wrong to do the same as many other good men did in the same era. He just did it better, more high profile, made it count for more. Very Ali.
He could have, almost certainly would have had a huge impact the other way too. It might even have been more of an impact. Fight for the Army, then get elected to Congress? March beside MLK, Jr., then in his place?
Ali could have taken the NAACP to new heights it never reached post-MLK.
I don't say this as criticism, but as comment that a man as great as Ali had many choices that could have led to great things.
They do not reflect badly on Joe Louis.
17
Yep and to note - and McNamara and Westmoreland didn't go to jail either...
2
Now, that would have been a fight! But I'm glad they never met, for each was almost certainly the only one that could have knocked the other out every time they fought.
How would you have scored that one?
How would you have scored that one?
Kerry served when called. He made his objections known afterwards. Ali took his actions as a self-serving freeloader.
What I and so many others absolutely loved about the man is that he lived life on his own terms. Good, bad, but never indifferent. What more can we hope to say about our own lives than having lived it on our terms? From Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali to Ali. From the Olympics to Liston to Frazier to Foreman. From the State Fairgrounds at Louisville to Madison Square Garden to Wembley to the Astrodome to Tokyo to Dublin to Jakarta to Zaire to Kuala Lumpur to Manilla. From a Louisville kid to the single most recognizable figure on the planet. If Ali didn't live the most transcendent live during his years on this earth, then who? A man who lived his life on his own terms and who, by living that life so openly, freely, and yes, bodaciously, inspired others to do so as well.
47
An insightful piece. Ali was not a perfect human being, for he had a cruel and ugly side, shown particularly in his hurtful treatment of Joe Frazier. Still, I think all of us, whatever our race, owe him a debt for standing up for his own manhood; a wonderful and useful example to all men and women." Not the white man's Negro" sums it up very nicely. The un-Clarence Thomas. Pete McGuire, Atlanta
44
"The un-Clarence Thomas."
I initially thought this a strong, insightful comment, but then reconsidered. On second thought, I think this is an unkind and uncalled-for comment (and I'm no fan of the man).
Perhaps Thomas is being his own man, in the same way Ali did in the sixties. We just don't like him because he's not being what we want.
I initially thought this a strong, insightful comment, but then reconsidered. On second thought, I think this is an unkind and uncalled-for comment (and I'm no fan of the man).
Perhaps Thomas is being his own man, in the same way Ali did in the sixties. We just don't like him because he's not being what we want.
5
"Respected publications, including The New York Times, continued to print the “slave name” Cassius Clay for years."
So where has the MSM, including the NY Times, expressed their long overdue regrets? "Respected" By whom?
So where has the MSM, including the NY Times, expressed their long overdue regrets? "Respected" By whom?
15
I would think that anyone 55 and over would have a vivid emotion about Ali, good & bad.
When we look around today and using the approaching election as the backdrop we can see nothing much has changed in much of America. A loud, black man who deserted his country and his religion...would not be tolerated. They'd still persecute him today & take his livelihood from him. You know, to make America great again.
He would not be Mr. Trump's African American.
Regardless, Ali made us look at ourselves and SMILE. Thanks Champ.
When we look around today and using the approaching election as the backdrop we can see nothing much has changed in much of America. A loud, black man who deserted his country and his religion...would not be tolerated. They'd still persecute him today & take his livelihood from him. You know, to make America great again.
He would not be Mr. Trump's African American.
Regardless, Ali made us look at ourselves and SMILE. Thanks Champ.
66
OMG, really? Ali is his own man, don't try and make some sort of political swipe at Trump.
He was one of the most courageous people ever to live. May he rest in a well-deserved peace.
37
Ali's draft defiance, and the price he paid for it as a stellar athlete in his prime, are his greatest achievements. I wish that spirit was alive today, rather than the brainless "support the troops" mantra that has snookered anti-war sensibility. People can help stop war, as Ali helped show with his principled observation that he had "no quarrel with them Vietcong." As it turned out, neither did we, and they Rope-A-Doped us pretty good.
183
Yes, that whole, "thanks for your service," mantra to returning vets has a ring of hollowness. Do we really believe they are out there defending our freedom? It's the drumbeat of militarism by elected officials and the media that gives a counterbalance to rational thought. Ali, at the time, said what we were all thinking, and what we were all thinking was, "why are we over there?"
Is it any wonder the government treated him so cruelly? He was a national figure who questioned their authority. Of course, today, the government easily sidestepped public protesting any conflict, by getting rid of the draft and having an "all volunteer" army. There will never be another Ali, as there will never be much war protesting.
Is it any wonder the government treated him so cruelly? He was a national figure who questioned their authority. Of course, today, the government easily sidestepped public protesting any conflict, by getting rid of the draft and having an "all volunteer" army. There will never be another Ali, as there will never be much war protesting.
6
Especially with Robert McNamara's rotation system which created a solitary war for solitary soldiers; do your year with no unit cohesion and silently walk away.
1
Ali could of been elected President in today's America...
3
Terrific read, but I have a quibble: You say that his was "a far more ordinary, even callow personality." Here are a few things he said:
"I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world."
"I have been so great in boxing they had to create an image like Rocky, a white image on the screen, to counteract my image in the ring. America has to have its white images, no matter where it gets them. Jesus, Wonder Woman, Tarzan and Rocky."
"I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Dempsey were just jet pilots. I'm in a world of my own."
"Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong."
"I had to prove you could be a new kind of black man. I had to show the world."
"I'll beat him so bad he'll need a shoehorn to put his hat on."
"I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin' hell, but as long as they ain't free, I ain't free."
"No one knows what to say in the loser's locker room."
"Old age is just a record of one's whole life."
"I figure I'll be champ for about ten years and then I'll let my brother take over--like the Kennedys down in Washington."
And finally:
"A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he'll never crow. I have seen the light and I'm crowing."
I imagine America without Ali the way Capra imagined Bedford Falls without George Bailey. A harder, crueler place. Rest in Peace, Champ.
"I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world."
"I have been so great in boxing they had to create an image like Rocky, a white image on the screen, to counteract my image in the ring. America has to have its white images, no matter where it gets them. Jesus, Wonder Woman, Tarzan and Rocky."
"I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Dempsey were just jet pilots. I'm in a world of my own."
"Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong."
"I had to prove you could be a new kind of black man. I had to show the world."
"I'll beat him so bad he'll need a shoehorn to put his hat on."
"I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin' hell, but as long as they ain't free, I ain't free."
"No one knows what to say in the loser's locker room."
"Old age is just a record of one's whole life."
"I figure I'll be champ for about ten years and then I'll let my brother take over--like the Kennedys down in Washington."
And finally:
"A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he'll never crow. I have seen the light and I'm crowing."
I imagine America without Ali the way Capra imagined Bedford Falls without George Bailey. A harder, crueler place. Rest in Peace, Champ.
239
Superb, Jack !!
6
That rooster quote is fantastic.
5
Jack.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
I'm smiling from ear to ear with the Ali quotes you shared with us.
Ali was a poet of the first order.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
I'm smiling from ear to ear with the Ali quotes you shared with us.
Ali was a poet of the first order.
7
Compare the courage and conviction of the young Muhammad Ali with today's Senator John McCain and other leading Republicans who loath Dangerous Donald but nonetheless have climbed aboard his bandwagon.
222
Or with Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter, who avoid controversy for the almighty dollar. Among his many sacrifices for his courage, Ali gave up hundreds of millions of dollars.
9
I grew up with this black man, I was in awe with his courage ,his defiance of apartheid, his condemnation of a fabricated war.He stood his ground went toe to toe with them and never quit. Great for his people,great for all people.Loved his humor,loved his whit,loved his candor. He was in the ring of public opinion, under great scruity ,never danced around the issues of injustice.He would sting them with the real American reality and for this he took many blows. I consider myself so fortunate to have witnessed this man's life.He was my hero.Way to go Champ!!
33
Ameen.
2
This is another beautiful remembrance of the Champ. What upsets me is the way his enemies try to make it like he had no enemies. He spoke against Donald Trump and the Republicans. McConnell is not Ali's homeboy. He's the white racist man who has spent his life stopping a million Muhammad Alis and we should not let them lie on this great man, whom we just buried, who spent his life fighting white superiority long before it became chic.
27
Amen.
Professional sports figures, our modern gladiators, offer a society of spectators rich entertainment, in exchange for which a relative handful will acquire great wealth, but many (especially in boxing and football) will suffer serious injuries that result from the thrills the audience demands. Even many of those who retire with large bank accounts will quickly lose the fortune obtained at such high cost, exploited either by friends and associates or by their own ignorance of financial management methods.
This system conforms to the principles of a market economy, and some unsympathetic observers will hold the athletes responsible for their own fates, noting the unusual opportunities they enjoyed and the unforced mistakes they made. Perfectly valid conclusions, based on the mores of our individualist culture. Nevertheless, a society in which the entertainment of the many depends on the suffering of the few should not boast about the superiority of its civilization. I make this observation as a long-time football fan.
This system conforms to the principles of a market economy, and some unsympathetic observers will hold the athletes responsible for their own fates, noting the unusual opportunities they enjoyed and the unforced mistakes they made. Perfectly valid conclusions, based on the mores of our individualist culture. Nevertheless, a society in which the entertainment of the many depends on the suffering of the few should not boast about the superiority of its civilization. I make this observation as a long-time football fan.
9
I respect him immensely; loved his talk at our bastion of privilege (Northfield Mt. Hermon School, 1974). Important and excellent column, and people tell me I can be tedious, but how did he lose so much "youthful agility" in only three years of his twenties?
3
Are you being sarcastic?
As a professional boxer, three years of your 20s is like dog years!
He was like 27 yrs old man fighting "his" 22 yrs men....
He was in declining path of his profession when the younger men were climbing up!
Three years of fighting the feds, the supreme court and the country also takes a toll on a person psychologically.
I feel silly explaining this to you.
As a professional boxer, three years of your 20s is like dog years!
He was like 27 yrs old man fighting "his" 22 yrs men....
He was in declining path of his profession when the younger men were climbing up!
Three years of fighting the feds, the supreme court and the country also takes a toll on a person psychologically.
I feel silly explaining this to you.
13
Ali was right about boxing: it was nothing but a skillfully employed tool for his advancement. The notion that two men should enter a ring to beat each other to either exhaustion or unconsciousness is absurd; even more so when we call it "entertainment." The only advancement from the days of the Roman gladiator is that they are no longer beheading one another.
But contempt for the "sport" in no way denigrates Ali's memory, any more than contempt for the Vietnam War is an indictment of the soldiers who bravely fought in it. And this was Ali's truest gift to us: he basically said to us that he didn't care much for boxing but saw it as a vehicle to advance his own interests and those of black America. The Vietnam War was just the opposite: it did not provide any opportunities to advance his own cause or anyone else's. He needed boxing; he didn't need to serve in the war.
I see no hypocrisy here: he didn't kill his boxing opponents and he refused to kill someone across the sea with whom he had no quarrel. And his public explanations of his reasoning were a positive addition to the national debate.
Ali will always be a personal hero of mine.
But contempt for the "sport" in no way denigrates Ali's memory, any more than contempt for the Vietnam War is an indictment of the soldiers who bravely fought in it. And this was Ali's truest gift to us: he basically said to us that he didn't care much for boxing but saw it as a vehicle to advance his own interests and those of black America. The Vietnam War was just the opposite: it did not provide any opportunities to advance his own cause or anyone else's. He needed boxing; he didn't need to serve in the war.
I see no hypocrisy here: he didn't kill his boxing opponents and he refused to kill someone across the sea with whom he had no quarrel. And his public explanations of his reasoning were a positive addition to the national debate.
Ali will always be a personal hero of mine.
162
"The Vietnam War was just the opposite: it did not provide any opportunities to advance his own cause or anyone else's." - I'd like to add here that, right, not the war but the very machinations and drivers of that war - esp., the selective service boards, the draft, the pettiness (Oates details) pervasive throughout this country - all gave voice to those that otherwise would have said little. And that changed things. That advanced things - and what a tragedy it all was...
4
@TM,
Great comment, especially sentence. Re: that last sentence, I think you've got a lot of company.
6-6-16@12:50 pm
Great comment, especially sentence. Re: that last sentence, I think you've got a lot of company.
6-6-16@12:50 pm
1
Muhammad Ali was, in fact,T HE GREATEST1
3
'a public role of caution and restraint' Something mezmerizing about hearing a man tell you he is going overwhelm his opponents and then just doing it. His out of ring persona was as refreshing as the early music of the Beatles. He embraced a faith that allowed black pride, but never seemed subject to hatred. In moving from presumed pretender to revered figure he allowed many the thrill of victory against all odds.
8
Ali was no ordinary man or boxer or African American.
He came to the world as an ordinary man but through his indomitable spirit and internal and external strengths showed the populace that he was not going to walk the same path as the stereotyped black man or boxer.
He shattered that image like he flattened Sonny Liston with the power of his punch, showmanship and ability.
He lost his name, fame and medals because he believed the war in Vietnam was wrong, and as time crawled on with Vietnam many Americans began to believe that they were bogged down in a lost war.
He changed the ordinary man's way of thinking about boxing, blacks, Islam , wars and above all about Muhammad Ali.
In the end Ali was admired by the man in the street, presidents and kings. It was his personal courage, his personal convictions and unbreakable will that made Ali the legend that he was and will be for years to come.
May his god bless him
STAN CHUN
Wellington
New Zealand
6 June, 2016
He came to the world as an ordinary man but through his indomitable spirit and internal and external strengths showed the populace that he was not going to walk the same path as the stereotyped black man or boxer.
He shattered that image like he flattened Sonny Liston with the power of his punch, showmanship and ability.
He lost his name, fame and medals because he believed the war in Vietnam was wrong, and as time crawled on with Vietnam many Americans began to believe that they were bogged down in a lost war.
He changed the ordinary man's way of thinking about boxing, blacks, Islam , wars and above all about Muhammad Ali.
In the end Ali was admired by the man in the street, presidents and kings. It was his personal courage, his personal convictions and unbreakable will that made Ali the legend that he was and will be for years to come.
May his god bless him
STAN CHUN
Wellington
New Zealand
6 June, 2016
134
"His god"? IF there is one, there is ONE.
Stan, he was a loud-mouthed, not so bright guy who hit people but was for 'peace'. In the end, he was brain-dead, but some kept up the myth of his life. Now, Stan, think about those folks who really made this world great.
1
MOHAMMAD ALI Achieved great things in his life in many realms. He lived as a free, proud, African American. And never gave in.
7
Excellent piece by Mrs Oates, that shows again how bipolar the USA is.That Ali could become an American hero , is that a miracle , a story only America can produce, or maybe both ? In a country like the USA where racism still plays a huge role, it is exactly that racism that allowed Ali to become the towering figure he was . His way of defeating both racism and his not less mighty opponents was almost too spectacular to believe.But it matched deeply felt ideals, the other side of the American coin.
6
One could do worse than have the most brilliant American novelist of her generation write an obit. She did her subject eloquent, moving credit, which was what Ali richly deserved. He was far more than an icon of American sport, a descriptive phrase that that has been repeated often by commentators in the past few days. He was a transforming figure in our lives, a natural revolutionary, -- an "upright barbarian" in the words of another great American novelist, Herman Melville, alluding to Billy Budd -- whose sheer presence, his heart and his courage, alters the world around him.
10
Jack Johnson also refused to be the white man's negro.
22
Whenever I think that America might take a good look at itself in the mirror I am disappointed. America looks the other way. Ali stood taller than anyone else in America when he refused to go and kill in Vietnam. Even without knowing Vietnamese history, he knew no Vietnamese had ever done anything to an American, and certainly not to a black American. Black Americans were only OK there for fighting and sport - and then go sit down the back of the bus or nowhere near a white person. But white people expect black people to fight their wars and for centuries they have done just that. Ali broke that chain and stuck to his principles - demonstrating that he knew exactly what principles were, even though nobody else did. Braveheart, man.
133
He showed me how to march my own life and be true to who I really was.
My life was after that the greatest trip one could ever live.
Bless Ali you are with the Gods now.
My life was after that the greatest trip one could ever live.
Bless Ali you are with the Gods now.
2
An excellent eulogy for "The Greatest".
3
Muhammad Ali was much more than a boxer, a mere fighter. He was, in retrospect, the continuation of a civil rights movement begun in 1955 with the kidnapping and lynching of Emmett Till. The young Cassius Clay said the grisly photographs in Jet Magazine always informed his race-consciousness.
As Muhammad Ali, in 1966, he was at shrill variance with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's firm, implacable insistence on civil disobedience (with an emphasis on "civil"). Dr. King's movement portrayed all black Americans as victims, yes, victims of a repressive regime of entrenched refusal to honor its national code of Constitutionally-chiseled inclusion of citizenship. The Framers were all white, and, perhaps, no doubt meant "only white," but those words, or limitations, thankfully, never survived the final document.
Ali was the dissonance chord at variance with Dr. King. He was loud. He was brash. He was direct. He was rough and street as opposed to cautious, deferential, accommodating, behavior expected of black people by whites, their "betters." Ali threw off those chains, literally and figuratively, freeing, as Dr. King could not, untold millions of black youth who chafed at white America's established social and legal restraints.
It was Ali, more than Elijah Muhammad or Malcolm X, who drew multitudes of disaffected blacks to the mosques of Allah. After the "thrilla in Manila," Joe Frazier said "I hit him with punches that would have brought down a building."
But not a man.
As Muhammad Ali, in 1966, he was at shrill variance with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's firm, implacable insistence on civil disobedience (with an emphasis on "civil"). Dr. King's movement portrayed all black Americans as victims, yes, victims of a repressive regime of entrenched refusal to honor its national code of Constitutionally-chiseled inclusion of citizenship. The Framers were all white, and, perhaps, no doubt meant "only white," but those words, or limitations, thankfully, never survived the final document.
Ali was the dissonance chord at variance with Dr. King. He was loud. He was brash. He was direct. He was rough and street as opposed to cautious, deferential, accommodating, behavior expected of black people by whites, their "betters." Ali threw off those chains, literally and figuratively, freeing, as Dr. King could not, untold millions of black youth who chafed at white America's established social and legal restraints.
It was Ali, more than Elijah Muhammad or Malcolm X, who drew multitudes of disaffected blacks to the mosques of Allah. After the "thrilla in Manila," Joe Frazier said "I hit him with punches that would have brought down a building."
But not a man.
13
Ali was flawed. He was misled. He was used. He chose to exploit women, in defiance of his piously expressed faith. All of that said and acknowledged, the positive side of his life ledger is far greater than the negative. He was a symbol for so many. An anti-war symbol, an anti-imperialist symbol, a black empowerment symbol. And most especially, a symbol of hope. RIP, Champ.
82
I find a special irony in how Ali who was reviled as a draft dodger in the sixties for taking a principled personal anti-war stand, was in his later years enlarged beyond life and practically deified as a super-hero. Contrast that with the Dick Cheneys, Bill Clintons and myriad others who evaded service in the sixties with endless student deferments, bogus medical exemptions and phony patriotism but were treated with respect. In their adult lives they have discredited themselves with their behavior.
11
Ali wasn't a draft dodger; he was a consciencious objector. There's a big difference. A very big difference. He was willing to go to jail for his objection to the war and not being drafted. (And, although he didn't go to jail, he gave up his fighting career for 3.5 years at the height of his earning power.) Clinton, Cheney, Bush, Trump all evaded service by using myriad deferments, etc. There was no principal involved in what they did.
Big difference.
Big difference.
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@rpm: I think you left out one of the more important draft dodgers, the presumptive Republican party nominee for POTUS, Donald Trump! Four draft deferments, for the former college athlete!
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RPM does NOT say that Ali was a "draft dodger". He/she says that he was "reviled" as a "draft dodger". Ie, that other people CALLED him that. You must not have been alive at the time. I myself had friends who actually called him that. They were never quite as close to me afterwards....
2
One can only admire the achievements of Muhammad Ali and as I read this article, I see more clearly the difference between great athletes and heroes. What differentiates those two categories, that are often taken to be the same, is that the latter, 'true heroes,' cannot be numerically defined. There is an IT factor that contributes to an already great athlete that advances him to be a hero. And I believe the IT factor is passion displayed in a hero's career that inspires awe from onlookers and set their passions ablaze. Great athletes, on the other hand, can be numerically defined. With immaculate record and frightening athleticism, some athletes deserve to be called great but, often, they fail to surpass the 'greatness' stratum and be a hero.
Muhammad Ali is a hero and one should truly admire not only his great career but his passion.
Muhammad Ali is a hero and one should truly admire not only his great career but his passion.
9
He lived gracefully, stoically and courageously with Parkinson's for 32 years. That is enough of a hero for me.
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Profound and remarkable man; every inch an outstanding human being and hero. Sadly he paid the price: "Boxing just introduced me to the world." Tragic loss and cost. Thank you for shedding more light on who he was; a great American with the heart of a lion.
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Ms Oates has neglected to mention two important influences on Muhammad Ali: Jack Johnson and Gorgeous George. Johnson was of course the first Black Heavyweight Champion who taunted White America and did not kowtow to Jim Crow legislation. Ali tried to emulate him in and out of the boxing ring. Gorgeous George was a popular professional wrestler whose fame was Derived from his often outrageous behavior. He was a showman with his long golden curls and perfumed body who knew that the more flamboyant he acted the more tickets were sold. Jack Johnson and Gorgeous George were larger than life characters who transcended their sports and whose actions predated and inspired the young Cassius Marcelous Clay Jr. His embrace of Islam and his opposition to the Viet Nam War reflected his own noble conscience and courage during a very troubled era.
4
In 2001 when there was much discussion around the best of this and that "of the century" I asked my dad, who gets your vote for the best athlete of the 20th century Pete? He did not hesitate, Muhammad Ali, no question. I knew my dad wasn't a fervent boxing fan, why Ali? The next day a copy of "Muhammad Ali, the Greatest" appeared on my bed. Read it in one sitting, very compelling, an incredible athlete with a courage beyond the scope of the boxing ring. Lesson learned for a young white person of privilege.
9
Both Ali and Trump dodged the draft in the Vietnam era. Ali did so while proclaiming, "The Viet Cong ain't my enemy, the white man is my enemy."
Like Trump, Ali often made racially charged remarks.
Both men, of course, had preposterously over-size egos. Both men would mercilessly and wittily taunt their opponents. Both possessed the peculiar quality that their enemies would often forgive them, even tend to admire them.
Both men abstained from alcohol, both could display misogyny attitudes. Neither was consistent in their political statements, because neither was intellectually inclined to think in ideological terms. They thought in personal terms. Ali expressed admiration for Ronald Reagan.
Liberals will probably be outraged today for my daring to compare Ali (who they see as a shining exemplar of all that is on the moral high ground and fashionably modern ((weird for such an orthodox Muslim)) ) with Trump, whom they see as the Devil Incarnate and Hitleresque.
I guess if I had to write the headline for a eulogy for the Donald today, I would say: "Trump, Never Apologetic for Being a Rich Man or an American."