Post by Deleted on Apr 8, 2015 0:29:00 GMT -5
The 20th century saw the rise of sports as a worldwide form of entertainment largely due to the advent of radio, and later television. The 100-year period gave us such athletes as Babe Ruth, Pelé, Joe Montana and Michael Jordan. However, it has often been said that boxer Muhammad Ali was the defining athlete of the century. Various sources in 1999 named him the "Sportsman of the century" and he is widely regarded as the greatest (or one of the greatest) boxers of all time. Today, he is admired by what seems to be a majority of young American society. He is admired by people of all races and religions. Many of these admirers are not fans of boxing and have never watched a single fight. Some do not even like sports. His quotes are taught in schools and some schools and other institutions are even named after him. He is generally regarded as a "great" man. This is something that has always confused me.
Muhammad Ali evaded the draft on religious grounds, yet publicly cheated on his wife and was generally regarded as a womanizer. He was a member of a racist organization (Nation Of Islam) and spoke out against interracial relationships and in support of segregation on various occasions. He even once spoke at a KKK rally when the two organizations were considering a pact.
While he was exiled from boxing for dodging the draft, fellow great Joe Frazier repeatedly stuck up for Ali and voiced support for him to return to boxing. He even lent him money. When Ali finally did return, he returned the favor by calling Frazier an "Uncle Tom" and mocked the way he looked and talked. He would eventually call him a "gorilla" and said that Frazier was worse to him than white racists. While Ali's charisma was undeniable, it's also hard to deny that these comments were racist, hurtful and uncalled for. Frazier was arguably very representative of Black America's working class, yet was made to look like a phony by Ali. And for what?
So what is it that people like an respect so much about this man? Is it because they have been taught by the media to like him? Perhaps it's the same thing as people loving Che Guevara: being drawn to the coolness of counterculture while not bothering to look into the whole story. I'm sure some of you will have an opinion on all of this, so enlighten me.
Muhammad Ali evaded the draft on religious grounds, yet publicly cheated on his wife and was generally regarded as a womanizer. He was a member of a racist organization (Nation Of Islam) and spoke out against interracial relationships and in support of segregation on various occasions. He even once spoke at a KKK rally when the two organizations were considering a pact.
While he was exiled from boxing for dodging the draft, fellow great Joe Frazier repeatedly stuck up for Ali and voiced support for him to return to boxing. He even lent him money. When Ali finally did return, he returned the favor by calling Frazier an "Uncle Tom" and mocked the way he looked and talked. He would eventually call him a "gorilla" and said that Frazier was worse to him than white racists. While Ali's charisma was undeniable, it's also hard to deny that these comments were racist, hurtful and uncalled for. Frazier was arguably very representative of Black America's working class, yet was made to look like a phony by Ali. And for what?
So what is it that people like an respect so much about this man? Is it because they have been taught by the media to like him? Perhaps it's the same thing as people loving Che Guevara: being drawn to the coolness of counterculture while not bothering to look into the whole story. I'm sure some of you will have an opinion on all of this, so enlighten me.