How The Champ Fought The State and Won

An Ode to The Champ

"I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong ... They never called me nigger." -Muhammad Ali

In 1966, less than two years after winning his first World Championship title, Muhammad Ali received a notice from the US Government stating that he had been classified as eligible for military conscription. Immediately, he refused and informed the draft board that he was a conscientious objector to the war in Vietnam. The draft board unanimously rejected his claim, setting off a multi-year court battle that would ultimately be decided by the US Supreme Court.

In the prime years of a boxer's career, Ali was barred from fighting for his stand against the US Government. A host of boxing regulatory bodies rescinded his boxing licenses and he was stripped of his World Championship title by the World Boxing Association. After a series of failed appeals, Ali's case finally came before the US Supreme Court, where they decided in his favor on a technicality.

While the obvious conclusion to many is that the state robbed Ali of his prime fighting years, another point of view is that he was faced with the fight of his life, for his life. Muhammad Ali had taken on the most dangerous organization on Earth and won. The odds he faced in his battle against the draft were surely tougher than any he'd ever faced in the ring, his right to life and self-determination were at stake.

This is the Muhammad Ali I am remembering today. The Ali that said "no." The Ali who fought the state and won.

-juanlibertad

Image found via Foundation for Economic Education FB Page