The three time world heavyweight champion, Muhammad Ali, known to be the greatest boxer of all time has done so much more. In 1966, Ali was drafted into the Vietnam war but, he refused to go. Vietnam was a very controversial war as it coincided with the Civil Rights movement. Many African Americans did not want to fight for a country whose people don’t treat them as humans. Some may say that Muhammad Ali should have remained silent because of his boxing career. However, his activism outside of the ring through his refusal with Vietnam and the sacrifices he made along with it show he is the greatest athlete activist of all time.
Muhammad Ali’s sacrifices are a testament to how he is the greatest athlete activist of all time. Six years into his professional boxing career, Muhammad Ali was drafted into the Vietnam war. Ali believed that going to this war, he would be fighting for a country that has never fought for him or African-Americans as a whole. He was charged with Draft evasion, and was forced to give up his titles that he worked for. “Ali said to Sports Illustrated contributor Edwin Shrake, ‘I’m giving up my title, my wealth, maybe my future….’’ (“Muhammad Ali.”). Ali did not only just lose his titles, but he almost had to give up his future career at such a young age. His license to box was suspended in New York and he was unable to obtain a boxing license in the U.S. for the next three years (Calamur). Ali had to give up everything he worked simply for refusing to go to war. His sacrifices could have ruined his future, but his willingness to give it all up shows that he really is the greatest.
Muhammad Ali was also faced with legal punishments, which prove his passions for civil rights throughout America. Ali was sentenced with 5 years in jail but he fought through the Supreme court, to not serve it. Knowing that jail time was the punishment for Draft evasion, Ali continued to fight for his beliefs and was willing to serve the time for his people. “What’s wrong with me going to jail for something I believe in? Boys are dying in Vietnam for something they don’t believe” (Muhammad Ali and the Draft). Even with the threats of jail time, Ali did not back down from the fight. Ali understood that some of the people America is killing are innocent civilians and in reality, America has no valid reason to be in this war.
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Ali has no problem fighting in a war with a cause he believed in because he says, “If I thought the war was going to bring freedom and equality to 22 million of my people they wouldn’t have to draft me, I’d join tomorrow. I have nothing to lose by standing up for my beliefs. So I’ll go to jail, so what? We’ve been in jail for 400 years” (Zirin). Ali did not simply chose against the war because he was scared, he did it for his people that have been oppressed for centuries. In this quote, we’re able to see that if he was fighting for a cause he believed in he would go. Ali understood that he risked jail time for his actions but he still sacrificed himself to take a stand for those who can’t.
Muhammad Ali’s refusal to fight in the Vietnam war has made a lasting impact on athletes and the Civil Rights movement. Ali’s activism and his public refusal to fight in the war made an impact on other athlete activists. “He dazzled militant students with lectures on black history, his own political travails, and the need for principled resistance. An entire generation of black athletes, most notably Olympic sprinters John Carlos and Tommie Smith, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar worshipped Ali as the pinnacle of athletic achievement” (Joseph). Ali was able to help other African-Americans understand the prejudice in America, and educated them to join the resistance. Ali made an impact to other athletes as they saw him not as a failure, but as a role model. Even to this day, “…his presence still rankles older reactionaries” (Zirin). According to Dave Zirin, Ali when Ali appeared at the 2004 Hall of fame game, Bob Feller publicly said that he did not want Ali to pitch because he changed his name and religion, and did not fight for his country. Ali is still seen as a threat to some people that do not like him or support his opinions. Six decades later his impact is seen in so many forms, some positive some negative, but being able to see how he’s changed athlete activism show how important he was.
Muhammed Ali is the greatest athlete activist of all time because of his refusal to fight in the Vietnam war and the sacrifices he had to make along with it. Ali was gave up his title, and risked going to jail to help fight for what he believed in. Ali’s sacrifices and activism made an impact in the civil rights movement and is still talked about today. If Ali had simply went to the war, his voice and ideas would not have been heard. He was an instrumental piece in the Civil Rights movement and his actions marked a turning point for athlete activism as a whole.
Works Cited
- Calamur, Krishnadev. ‘When Muhammad Ali Refused to Go to Vietnam.’ The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 4 June 2016, www.theatlantic.com/news/archive/2016/06/muhammad-ali-vietnam/485717/.
- Joseph, Peniel. ‘Muhammad Ali Helped Make Black Power into a Global Political Brand.’ UT News | The University of Texas at Austin, 8 June 2016, news.utexas.edu/2016/06/08/muhammad-ali-helped-make-black-power-into-a political-brand/.
- ‘Muhammad Ali.’ Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 52, Gale, 2006. Biography In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/K1606003283/BIC?u=skok85085&sid=BIC&xid=766b26b8. Accessed 28 Nov. 2018.
- ‘Muhammad Ali and the Draft.’ American Decades Primary Sources, edited by Cynthia Rose, vol. 7: 1960-1969, Gale, 2004, pp. 644-649. Biography In Context, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3490201419/BIC?u=skok85085&sid=BIC&xid=ded54912. Accessed 28 Nov. 2018.
- Zirin, Dave. ”I Just Wanted to Be Free’: The Radical Reverberations of Muhammad Ali.’ The Nation, 6 June 2016,
- Zirin, Dave. What’s My Name, Fool?: Sports and Resistance in United States. ReadHowYouWant.com Ltd, 2011.
