Muhammad Ali dead at 74

[Her]

https://edition.cnn.com/2016/06/03/us/muhammad-ali/index.html?adkey=bn

Muhammad Ali, the legendary boxer who proclaimed himself "The Greatest" and was among the most famous and beloved athletes on the planet, died Friday in Phoenix, Arizona, a family spokesman said.

Ali, 74, had been at a Phoenix hospital since Thursday with what spokesman Bob Gunnell had described as a respiratory issue.
The three-time heavyweight champion also had battled Parkinson's disease since 1984.
Laila Ali "truly appreciates the outpouring of love for her family, as she spends quality time with her dad," a statement issued by her business manager said.

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He once was known not only for his athletic prowess as a three-time heavyweight champion but also for his social activism.

Ali was born in Louisville, Kentucky, as Cassius Clay in January 1942. He began boxing as an amateur when he was 12 years old and in 1964 became heavyweight champion with a knockout of Sonny Liston. That year he joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name.

Ali's sparkling career was interrupted for 3½ years in the 1960s when he refused induction into the U.S. Army during the Vietnam War and was convicted of draft evasion. The Supreme Court overturned the conviction.
He went on to win the heavyweight title twice more before retiring for good in 1981.

Sad news. I'm glad that it didn't become a prolonged, painful stay in hospital - Parkinsons was enough of a bitch as it is. Rest in peace.

 

[EC]

R.I.P. Two select moments from the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.

 

[gimmepie]

The fact that we lost a great athlete doesn't bother me at all, athletes are no more important than anybody else. What is saddening, is that we lost such an excellent role model and notable social activist.

 

[Hikamaru]

As Pinkie said, 2016 is proving to be one of the worst years in recent history in regards to the loss of legendary faces. No wonder people are already claiming this year is bad, but anyways he will be missed by many, such as all the faces of the boxing community who are paying tribute.

Rest in peace to a legend of the ring.

 

[gimmepie]

Guys I just want to say, can we please not use the Round Table to discuss his athletic achievements? He did far more important things in his life than hit people and those are the things that should be discussed here.

If you want to talk about him as an athlete, there's a similar thread in General Entertainment.

 

[Bay]

"I am a Muslim and there is nothing Islamic about killing innocent people in Paris, San Bernardino, or anywhere else in the world. True Muslims know that the ruthless violence of so called Islamic Jihadists goes against the very tenets of our religion."

I didn't know he called out Trump's jabs at Muslims until recently. As someone who live minutes away from San Bernadino, I applaud Ali for making that statement.

 

[RegalSin]

The fact that we lost a great athlete doesn't bother me at all, athletes are no more important than anybody else. What is saddening, is that we lost such an excellent role model and notable social activist.

That is just sad, you should walk up to one of those athletes and say that in person.

Bottom line, he is a great inspiration to everyone. Sad thing about the parkingsons desease. Seriously that is all the damage from his push.

Seriously athletes work a lot. My health instructor burnt away her breasts from running, and while she is actually a manage of a bank ( one of those tall women you see at events ), she donates her time as one of the coachs for the local college. She also have diabetic issues, as with many athletes. My uncle have the same issues, and would not go down until his leg snapped, however he likes sweet things and every sweet thing you eat contribute to bone loss.

It is a hard life being athletic. Anything could happen. What I hate most are the girls/guys who date them. It is like the same thing over and over but in reality they are just playing with time.

 

[gimmepie]

That is just sad, you should walk up to one of those athletes and say that in person.

I am saying that as a person who has competed athletically at an interstate level. Athletes do not contribute anything of importance to society besides entertainment. He was a great athlete and a loss for the boxing community sure, but I choose to look at him as the great human being he was instead of as a bag of meat put on this Earth to entertain. Ali's athletic achievements were impressive but irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, it's his work as a humanitarian and activist that made him a great man and that is what I choose to remember him for.

You bring me an army athletes and I'll tell each and every one of them the same thing.

 

[RegalSin]

I am saying that as a person who has competed athletically at an interstate level. .

Interstate....auuwwhh so your being a crybaby about somebody elses achievements over yours? Did you dodge military draft by proclaiming your religion? Did you have a catch phrase? Were you promoted?

Next your going to attack George Foreman, and call him a bad father figure.

you want to expand upon your greatness and contemplate, why don't we have commercials with you talking about cars or cookware?

 

[gimmepie]

Interstate....auuwwhh so your being a crybaby about somebody elses achievements over yours? Did you dodge military draft by proclaiming your religion? Did you have a catch phrase? Were you promoted?

Next your going to attack George Foreman, and call him a bad father figure.

you want to expand upon your greatness and contemplate, why don't we have commercials with you talking about cars or cookware?

Not at all, I know perfectly well where my limits are and I accept them freely. I'm saying that as an athlete I feel perfectly comfortable in saying that a person's athletic prowess are meaningless when compared to the things they do as a person.

Ali was an amazing human being and should be remembered for his positions on human rights and social justice issues more than for his ability to hit things. I'm saying that his athletic achievements were of the highest order and should certainly be praised, but that they shouldn't overshadow the vastly more important things he did with his life.

Don't put words in my mouth and try to start meaningless arguments over nothing.

 

[RegalSin]

I am not starting any arguments. You insist the sport played an insignificant role in his career as a human rights activist. I will tell you this right now. My own mother can not resist seeing a fight between two childish over grown men in the super market, and if she is a non-violent person what do you think about other people ? The reality is the people, enjoys a fight for whatever reasons.

My Uncle was a boxer, it is brutal hard work, he fought professional and even in the military, and for what it is worth he gain respect from people, from all over. People still say his name in the area where he grew up and lived. They remember him from the newspapers of the 1970's, and television.

If Muhammad Ali was just a knit picker who never put his arms up. The people would never listen and he would just be seen as a yellow-coward abusing his religious rights. He would most likely ( again here is the punch line ) most likely never knew about his rights and be enlisted and randomly forgotten about. His boxing is what made him loved, his boxing was thing that put him up the top.

His words and or actions was not social justice. It was his own life on the line

 

[gimmepie]

I am not starting any arguments. You insist the sport played an insignificant role in his career as a human rights activist. I will tell you this right now. My own mother can not resist seeing a fight between two childish over grown men in the super market, and if she is a non-violent person what do you think about other people ? The reality is the people, enjoys a fight for whatever reasons.

My Uncle was a boxer, it is brutal hard work, he fought professional and even in the military, and for what it is worth he gain respect from people, from all over. People still say his name in the area where he grew up and lived. They remember him from the newspapers of the 1970's, and television.

If Muhammad Ali was just a knit picker who never put his arms up. The people would never listen and he would just be seen as a yellow-coward abusing his religious rights. He would most likely ( again here is the punch line ) most likely never knew about his rights and be enlisted and randomly forgotten about. His boxing is what made him loved, his boxing was thing that put him up the top.

His words and or actions was not social justice. It was his own life on the line

It's what got him known but it's still meaningless when compared to all the good he's done through activism. I'll say it one more time, he did more important things than hit people. Who's more important to the world, Usain Bolt or Malala Yousafzai?

As for that last part, sure you could make that argument for the Vietnam War. You could even be correct. That doesn't discount the fact that throughout his life he's always stood up for peoples' rights and used his fame to be a voice for the people who don't have one.