R.I.P. Muhammad Ali (1942-2016)

Man...

 

It's one thing to be a champion in a sport and be respected for it, it's another thing to also be a champion of the people. This is a loss of a true legend.

 

Ali is the single most important athlete in American history and it has little to do with any actual sport. He gave up the prime of his career and millions of dollars based on a purely moral stance, as a black Muslim in civil rights era America, and died an American icon.

Sports have changed, and a lot of other things in the country have changed, but it's hard to think there will be another athlete who has the kind of impact outside of sports, when it comes to actual meaningful things in the world, like Ali did.

 

A terrible loss for not only the sports world, but for the world in general. RIP

It's amazing he lived as long as he did.

 

RIP

 

Awful, awful news. The only poster I have in my classroom is of Ali.

 

2016 is been a real god damn shit with this stuff.

 

So upsetting to hear. In fourth grade, my class put on a Christmas play and I was insistent that the teacher not only write Muhammad Ali into the play, but cast me in the role because fuck it, it's Muhammad Ali.

 

We are losing way too many legends this year

 

more than a legend; one of the rare few that becomes an icon for all of sport. R.I.P.

 

One of the greats among combat sports. RIP

 

Greatest. Rip

 

Don't let people & the media reduce your view of this man to a motivational quote factory. He's one of the most important civil rights figures ever (that just happened to be the greatest boxer in the world by far). Legend

 

My hometown legend. This really sucks. But his impact will live on forever. RIP Champ.

 

There is no other athlete like him.

 

Man this dude is a legend. Very sad to hear

 

"“I ain’t draft dodging. I ain’t burning no flag. I ain’t running to Canada. I’m staying right here. You want to send me to jail? Fine, you go right ahead. I’ve been in jail for 400 years. I could be there for 4 or 5 more, but I ain’t going no 10,000 miles to help murder and kill other poor people. If I want to die, I’ll die right here, right now, fightin’ you, if I want to die. You my enemy, not no Chinese, no Vietcong, no Japanese. You my opposer when I want freedom. You my opposer when I want justice. You my opposer when I want equality. Want me to go somewhere and fight for you? You won’t even stand up for me right here in America, for my rights and my religious beliefs. You won’t even stand up for my rights here at home.”

 

Ali's transcending mere sport and becoming a figure of strength and defiance in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds is something that a lot of people alive today (myself included) have taken for granted. The man was more than a man, more than a champion, more than a legend, even. There is no word for what Ali was. Titan, maybe. I don't even think that does him justice. His words will live on forever, as (hopefully) will his message. It's up to every on of us to see that it does.

 

Until his death, I don't think I really grasped how influential he was outside of sports. What a loss. RIP.