P
erhaps it’s a little silly that my first knowledge of the great Muhammad Ali came from Eddie Murphy’s “Coming to America.”
Granted, the scene that mentioned Ali wasn’t exactly the most flattering. Several characters in a barbershop in the film joke and debate about Ali and his decision to change his name from Cassius Clay in the 1960s.
It wasn’t an exactly serious moment (or safe for work, for that matter). But in my mind, it was one instance that spoke of how much an icon Ali was, not only for the sport that made him famous, but for life itself.
Having grown up in the late 1980s and early 1990s, people my age saw Ali in his later years, ravaged by Parkinson’s disease.
Yet the affliction didn’t keep him from accomplishing many of his humanitarian goals. Many people around the world looked up to Ali for his role in the political and sociological spectrum.
Who can forget Ali’s famous moment when he lit the Olympic torch to start the 1996 summer games in Atlanta.
As I grew older and started to learn more about Ali, I began to appreciate his ability to transcend beyond any athlete in his day and age.
Brash and bold, daring and tough, Ali fit the persona of someone who floated “like a butterfly” and stung “like a bee.”
His outspokenness during his heyday drew so much criticism from the media and the public at the time.
But that was greatest thing about Ali’s persona. He wasn’t afraid to say what he wanted, and to do what he felt was right.
Ali legally changed his name to fit his Islamic ideals, and then challenged the political status quo during the height of his career. Doing so cost him three years – keeping him out of fights that could have made him so much money.
Best of all, Ali always seemed to walk the walk to go along with his ability to talk the talk. In a way, Ali set the table for many of today’s young and talented athletes.
He had that swagger, that confidence to do what he needed to succeed.
It’s all personified in the famous photo where Ali, who went by Clay at the time, hovered over Sonny Liston with a look of triumph.
But that’s what separates him from just about every athlete who’s played in nearly every sport. It’s what made Ali so one-of-a-kind.
You’d be hard pressed to find an athlete today that would be willing to sacrifice their careers to stand behind their ideals, right or wrong.
To be as outlandish and bold, but at the same time have the wherewithal to know what’s going on in the political climate around them.
There will never be another Muhammad Ali.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t learn from his example and try to find a way to fill his shoes.
Ali was an icon that just about every person in this world world will be hard pressed to live up to.
That’s why the man is “The Greatest.”
