Muhammad Ali


Clay, aka Ali v. United States 1966-1971

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"Ali's Moral Stand." Washington Post, June 21, 1999, p. C14.

The Washington Post, as part of its "The Century in the Post" series reprinted an article that originally appeared in The Post on June 21, 1967. The article details the conviction and sentencing of Ali to the maximum five years in prison and a $10,000 fine for refusing induction into the armed forces.

Ali stood tall and rigid and stared straight ahead while an all-white jury announced its verdict and again as U.S. District Judge Joe Ingraham announced the sentence.

Said Ali of the verdict, "It's just what I thought. It bears out the teachings of the honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Mighty Allah."

Prosecuting U.S. Attorney Morton Susman had indicated that he would not object if the judge would decide to pass down less than the maximum sentence. He indicated this, in part, because Ali:

"...had generally conducted himself in a law-abiding manner. He won a gold medal in the 1960 Olympics and won the championship in 1964."
However:

"He was converted to the Black Muslims in 1964 - - that is where his troubles began. It is a tragic thing that a fine young athlete could be brought under these religious and political ideas."
At this point, Ali interjected, "My religion is not political."


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Kief Schladweiler
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