Joe Bruno on Boxing – Muhammad Ali is Not a Hero.

Joe Bruno On Boxing ^ | June 4, 2016 | Joe Bruno

[KeyLargo]

Joe Bruno on Boxing – Muhammad Ali is Not a Hero.

Muhammad Ali passed away Friday night, June 3, 2016. I wrote the article below around the year 2000.

I got to know him fairly well in the 1980’s, when I was Vice President of the Boxing Writers Association. He was a real friendly man, and we had several nice conversations about what I have written below.

Still, his death doesn’t change what he was, and what he did early in his career.

It is with a sad heart that I stand by what is written below.

It’s just the truth, and a man’s death doesn’t change the truth.

Muhammad Ali Hero?—Not!!!!!!! There’s a new phenomenon taking place in boxing, and in the news media in general, which I’ll gracefully call revisionist history. I’m talking about the way the so-called media portrays one of the most controversial figures of all time – Muhammad Ali.

Former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali may have been great fighter, but he was also a shameless draft dodger, who refused to fight for his country in the Vietnam War.

If you say the United States didn’t belong in Vietnam–I agree. If you say it was a stupid war, a war we couldn’t win — I also agree. I didn’t like the war any more than Ali did, but me and hundreds of thousands of other men like me, black, white, or whatever, went into the United States armed service because it was our duty to our country and to our families.

Ali’s refusal to be inducted wasn’t a black/white thing like he and his people tried to shove down our throats. Hundreds of thousand of white men chickened out and avoided service in Vietnam too.

Ali claimed to be a Muslim minister as his exemption

[aMorePerfectUnion]

“who refused to fight for his country in the Vietnam War.”

Given what has now been revealed about the origins of the VN war, I think he made a good choice.

[stormer]

I agree. And if we want to talk about draft dodgers lets start with Ted Nugent, Dick Cheney, Donald Trump, and Rush Limbaugh.

[Lionheartusa1]

My last name is WEBSTER and it’s not too common a name by standards ,,, there are 20 Webster’s on the Vietnam wall including a trooper with my same first ,middle and last name from Ohio. They and 59k plus others are my heros .

[Safetgiver]

What BS? The truth is there and the only reason he was highly respected respected is because at the time we were having a low level race war and didn’t want it to go any further. If Frazier was a white guy, there would be a shooting war.

[Bogie]

Now, under Hillary Clinton, even American girls can be like the champ.

[DuncanWaring]

It wasn’t just him, but he was a major player.

[MadIsh32]

http://www.nj.com/sports/index.ssf/2016/06/former_heavyweight_champ_muhammad_ali_dies_the_gre.html

“I knew his answer before I asked the question, but I was stunned by the vehemence with which he expressed it.

He jumped off the table.

“I thought you knew me better than that. America is my home. Do you think I would let somebody chase me out of my home? Nobody is going to chase me out of my birthplace. If they say I have to go to jail, then I will. But I’m not gonna run away, and you should know it.””

[righttackle44]

Depends on your definition of hero. For me, Andrew Jackson will never be a hero. He is simply another piece of trash in American history. His Indian Removal program resulted in the deaths and suffering of thousands of Indian people, many of them women and children. He humiliated the men when he decreed many of them, without ever knowing them, should be removed in leg irons, and then he charged them for the irons.

Muhammad Ali was a hero to some. His efforts in supporting the Muhammad Ali Parkinson Center at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix brought 10s of 1,000s to Phoenix for treatment in what is probably the best Parkinson's Disease treatment center in North America.

So maybe we didn't appreciate his draft dodging. Many have been treated for this horrid disease simply because they found out about the center because he allowed the use of his name. He supported the center, and many came because of his name.

Perhaps some here hate him because he was black. Perhaps some here know someone who has been helped in their suffering from Parkinson's because of Muhammad Ali.

[Bogie]

Good point. It wasn't that the military need the manpower that badly. He was supposed to be like Elvis and would have had a great job anyhow. The question was, that kind of influence was he having on other people?

Turns out that the fight was against a disease.

[TennTuxedo]

His name change is interesting. It was a family name which was taken from an abolitionist who had freed his own slaves. His father had the same name. Then Cassius changed it to the name of a man who was a slave owner and slave trader when he took the name Muhammed. That was the work of a fool.

Ali debased our culture and made it popular to be an arrogant Clymer. He made Islam more acceptable in certain quarters. He did a lot of damage to the black community with these acts. And he was a coward. He would fight for his own self-interest, but not for the freedom of others. Every single punch he threw and every victory he had in the ring was as nothing compared to the deeds of those who went and fought in his place.

It is a sign of a sick culture that he is so lionized. And he played a major role in making that culture sick.

[mc5cents]

Then, John Kerry, Jane Fonda and the rest of the rogue's gallery of traitors persuaded them to stick with it, while they pushed the anti-war scam in this country, until the 'rats in government gave up and abandoned the South Vietnamese.

And don't forget "the most trusted man in America" Walter Cronkite who declared the war lost after the Tet offensive which by the way we had won!

[TEXOKIE]

Last night we were watching the ABC appearance of Donald Trump on whatever is their night time talking show now. We were disgusted that the show was pre-empted to be All Mohammed Ali All the Time.

Trump was doing real good too.

Yes it’s news, but they could have put a crawler out or some kind of quick message. We considered ABC’s action to use Ali’s death as an excuse to maliciously pre-empt Donald Trump — For a draft dodger.

[kabar]

Do we need this BS? Ali is highly respected in all aspects of his life, he stood by his convictions, was respectful, accountable, and deserves, in my opinion, respect. RIP.

How old are you? Bruno has it right. It is interesting to see the mythology spring up over Ali. Facts are stubborn things.

[kabar]

If you read Bruno's article, you will see it has nothing to do with race. He is attacking Ali for being a draft dodger and womanizer. It is politically correct today to praise Ali, but those of us old to remember the times, have a hard time doing so.

Ali was an unwitting tool of the Nation of Islam, a radical racist organization now headed by Louis Farrakhan. I was rooting for Joe Frazier in all three fights.

[bigdaddy45]

And what good would it have done? What country fell to communism after Vietnam? What would have been different if we would have won in Vietnam?

The whole thing was a mess that we should have never been a part of.

[Snickering Hound]

We had it won by about 1970; the North was preparing to pursue a ceasefire.

Then, John Kerry, Jane Fonda and the rest of the rogue's gallery of traitors persuaded them to stick with it, while they pushed the anti-war scam in this country, until the 'rats in government gave up and abandoned the South Vietnamese.

Yet another myth. Nixon finally got his ceasefire after the 72' Christmas bombings.

Didn't matter, North Vietnam just waited a little over a year and invaded in 74' and the ARVN cut and ran with South Vietnam being completely overrun by April 75'.

Didn't matter what our goofy celebrities did, North Vietnam was more determined to unite the country than we were to send our teenagers to die and try to stop it.

[Hot Tabasco]

First off, I AM old enough to remember those times since I was a part of it.

it has nothing to do with race.

Ali joining the Black Muslims had everything to do with race and in the south they had every right to hate whites.........

He is attacking Ali for being a draft dodger

To be honest with you, I'm surprised that any blacks from the racially segregated south responded to their draft notices........

Sorry but I don't share any of Brunos views except maybe the womanizing and that I could not care less.

[spandau-guard]

When called upon by your country and you refuse to fight for it, then you are a coward.....Period!!!!!!

[Snickering Hound]

[elcid1970]

Speaking of name changing, it has been forgotten just how much Cassius Clay sought strength in a name.

After the Israelis whomped Arabs’ @zz in 1967, Cassius Clay briefly changed his name from Muhammad Ali to Morris Steinberg.