For Americans - how much is the view on Ali political?

I am a white, east-coast liberal, and I have never been able to quite like Ali. It has nothing to do with politics, more so personality. I think he was basically a selfish individual who had to hog every situation for himself. He introduced trash talk to pro boxing, and I don't think that's a great achievement. He gained unfair advantages over opponents, by virtue of biased referees and judges. He knocked guys out then belittled them. And yet he gets branded this great humanitarian, wonderful human being etc.. I don't mean to sound nasty here, but I believe if Ali could still talk, he'd probably be as obnoxious as ever.

 

People can change as they age. Reagan himself did.


As an active boxer, Ali was beloved by the far left, and had a sometimes anti American view of the Black Muslim who feed him some of his most famous political lines.

 

This is 100% true.

There's very little substance to this 'political' Ali.

 

Muhammad Ali's great-grandfather was a white man who came from Ireland in the 1860s.
He married a free black woman.

100 years later Ali was still railing against "race mixing".

 

If ESB had been going 40/45 years ago,I'd have said that conservative politics would have been a major factor in negative feelings toward Ali. Nowadays,I think it's probably more of an individual thing.

 

GREYNOTSOOLD...You are so right...

 

I suppose he's not so dense as to rule out the possibility of such a clip being manipulated to suit the producers own agenda.I mean,there he is,making these statements in front of a journalist,with a camera rolling,yet it takes over thirty years for these statements to become widely known?

 

Suprisingly,

From turning professional in October 1960 thru November 1962 -

Cassius Clay did not 'belittle' his opponents. Yes, he was a bit of a 'loud-mouth' and a 'braggart',
but he did not make 'disparaging remarks' of his opponents.

The 'first' sign of 'disrespectful behavior' surfaced before the November 15, 1962 bout with Archie Moore
in Los Angeles, California.

Before that bout with Archie Moore, his usual pre-fight 'press performances' were that of 'a clownish behavior',
in more of a 'I'm here to amuse you'.

 

that is true ali was racist.
i am fond of ali and defended him on this forum for not going in the army but people forget he was racist and got away with it.
if i would say the same things over negros that ali said over withes some people while file charges against me.
the nazis where againsr race mixing and people thought and think that is terrible. but we forget that ali said also things that races should not mix etc etc

 

You've made a good point,Soprano. But I always ask myself "Was Ali REALLY racist" ? I know that this could be dismissed as me making excuses for him,as I'm an Ali fan but I've had my doubts about Ali's true feelings that he had when he was at his most fanatical about the Nation of Islam. The NOI was an organisation that had a set 'price list' of tenets. You could n't agree with rule number one but disagree with rule number two. After all,he probably had more whites in his entourage than most other black fighters in those days.

Basically,he was more than likely too scared to openly disagree with anything that Elijah Muhammad stated.

 

I agree that Ali was afraid to cross Elijah Muhammad.


In the beginning Malcolm X had been assigned as Clay's mentor. They became the best of friends.


On the same day Malcolm was assassinated a fire broke out in Ali's apartment. Ali wasn't there and the cause was never determined, but there is little doubt it was meant as a reminder. "Watch your step"

Ali's racist rhetoric was what he was told to do. His defiance of the draft was something he was ordered to do.

He confided to one close associate that he would rather serve a two year hitch as an entertainer fighting exhibitions, than go to jail and ruin his career, but Elijah Muhammad wouldn't "let" him.


Whether Ali was really a racist is anyone's guess. I doubt that he was when it all started but I also think if a man spouts that crap over and over for years he starts to believe it.



BTW- Reading up on Ali's early days with the NOI, I found out that Ali, Malcolm X and singers Loyd Price (Stagerlee) and Sam Cooke were great friends. They met often.

Any friend of Sam Cooke's can't be all bad. I'll give Ali that.

 

Yea how ridiculous for Ali to not like white people. He only grew up in the South where black people weren't complete citizens and were still being lynched, but he should've loved white people anyways its not like they were involved.

 

Werety,,,,,

You are so wrong.

Cassius Clay loved 'white people', or should I say '11' {white and rich} Louisville businessmen, a.k.a The Louisville Sponsoring Group.

 

If that is the truth about Ali then he was an even worse scum bag than anyone here has suggested.

Someone who espouses and preaches racist beliefs but knows them to be wrong is a lower human being than a racist who actually truly believes in it.