Anybody that knows anything about football will tell you that he is a talented athlete and should be on somebody’s team.”īlack athletes have a storied history of being sidelined for speaking out, dating as far back to Jack Johnson in the early 1900s. That was the height of his career in his mid-20s, the heavyweight champion of the world. The 70-year-old Abdul-Jabbar, who has had conversations with Colin Kaepernick, said the former NFL quarterback who sparked league protests by kneeling during the national anthem before games, is paying a similar price.Īli “sacrificed a lot to take that position,” said Abdul-Jabbar, author of “Becoming Kareem: Growing Up On and Off the Court.” ‘‘That was a great sacrifice on his part. But we let him know that we were behind him and eventually he won his case.”īut Ali lost the heavyweight title and three years of what would have been the prime of his career during his forced exile from the ring. “That was important because America didn’t think black Americans had any voice whatsoever,” the basketball legend said. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said it was important for black athletes to stand with Ali, to show he had support within his community. People didn’t believe him, but he believed.” “He never wavered because he believed Allah was on his side. “He believed 1 million percent,” said Gene Kilroy, Ali’s longtime business manager. He had announced after beating Sonny Liston to win the heavyweight title in 1964 that he converted to Islam and was a follower of the Nation of Islam. Like many black athletes who stand - or take a knee - to speak out for political or social change, he paid a price for his actions.īut he never wavered, despite nearly going bankrupt and drawing the wrath of a good portion of a country that viewed him merely as a draft dodger. Revered by many at his death, Ali was equally reviled at that time. He defended his title twice in the sparkling new Astrodome in Houston, part of a flurry of seven bouts in less than a year. The heavyweight champion fought in a soccer stadium in England, and at an ice rink in Germany. So he embarked on a grand tour to make some money before his fighting days came to an end. His career was at stake - but more importantly, so was his freedom - as he awaited the day he would formally refuse to be inducted in the armed forces of the United States. Muhammad Ali knew he didn’t have much time left.
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