Why is muhammad ali considered a hero?

Question

Why is muhammad ali considered a hero?

Answer 1

no vietkong ever called me a nigg3r why should I fight them.

that right there shows why. He's not afraid to speak his mind.

Answer 2

Cassius Clay or his Muslim name Mohamed is certainly no hero, I consider him a coward....No one can take away from his great talent...he was indeed the greatest boxer of his generation. He was the greatest



I spent two long years of my life in Vietnam... in the boonies, living like a rat and doing things that still give me "re runs" in my sleep, so don't think that old Cassius was some kind of hero for evading the draft..he just had the money and influence and ability to do it.. he wasn't making some kind of moral statment... he was just afraid his black *** was going to get shot...We were all afraid..he spent some easy time in jail...I would have traded all his jail time for one month in the Nam...we all didn't have so much respect for the likes of him or Saigon Jane...they made their money and us grunts took care of the business..

If you want a hero..look at Joe Lewis

he never changed his name and he actually joined the service in wartime in the prime of his career..

Answer 3

he spoke out in a time where if you were black you were supposed to shut up. He made a point of being proud to be black in a time you were assumed to be ashamed of it. He took a stand against the US government when he refused to enter the draft to fight in Vietnam - saying that no Vietcong ever called him a n*&ger. As a result of that, he got stripped of his titles, his boxing license and the robbed of the best years of his sporting career. This made him throw away the olympic medal he had.  When finally he was allowed back into pro boxing, and with lesser skill and ability, he still became world champion again, and still used his exposure to keep underlining the racial issues in the US.

He now is a symbol for standing up against racial differences (or indifferences) and became the face for people with dibilitating diseases (parkinson) for which he makes public appearances. He supports special olympics . Multiple charities... etc.

What he did for countless African Americans in terms of speaking out, earning respect and a place in both social and athletic stature is just amazing. That's a hero in my book.

Answer 4

BECAUSE HE FOUGHT FOR HIS BELIEFS ... WENT TO JAIL FIGHTING THE WRONGS ...TRULY THE GREATEST OF ALLLLL TIME !!!!!!

Answer 5

because he stood up to the government and protested the war.

Answer 6

He was probably the best heavyweight boxer of all time and people in particular tend to adore/idolize sports figures, especially one of such epic stature (See Michael Jordan or Babe Ruth). I don't consider him being a draft dodger to be such a heroic thing.