Upon selection for the military draft, Ali unabashedly let the world know where he stood on the Viet Nam conflict. It was not about dodging the draft, it was about conviction, and his would not allow him to travel half a world away to kill a people at as much of a disadvantage as his own.
Therefore, he had no beef with the Viet Cong; his beef was with the United States.
The same United States that he won a gold medal for; the same United States that at the height of the Civil Rights movement allowed police to sic dogs on men, women, and children of color, and those of no color who chose to stand with them. Finally, the same United States stripped him of his World Heavyweight Championship for refusal to play by their rules.
Ali would not fight for three years, but upon his return to the ring, he would defeat then-champion George Foreman, and win two of three epic battles with Joe Frazier while winning the world title twice more—displaying the power to lay down his career and resurrect it again, claiming that he was “The Greatest” along the way.
Ali would come full circle. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games, the same man who was considered a traitor and a hatemonger stood at the Olympic cauldron, representing world unity. Around his neck was his gold medal from the 1960 Rome games, replaced by the IOC.
Who would’ve thought this back in 1965.
If Muhammad Ali was responsible for introducing us to self-awareness, then Jim Brown is given credit for restoring pride to the black man. Jim Brown was part Jack Johnson, part Muhammad Ali, and all man.
As a member of the Cleveland Browns, Brown would set the standard for NFL running backs. He was a force out of the backfield that the NFL had not seen before and hasn't seen since. Considered by many to be the greatest player in NFL history, Jim Brown represented a coolness that drew admiration from men...and women.
Brown is recalled by many as being a man’s man; he would not allow himself to be dictated to. His very retirement was the result of his refusal to be dictated to. Brown was in London wrapping up filming the Dirty Dozen in July of 1966, when Browns owner Art Modell insisted that he come to training camp.
Brown refused, and Modell countered with the threat of daily fines. Brown called Modell’s bluff and announced his retirement.
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