Does anybody remember the trouble, Cassius Clay=Muhammed Ali got in when he refused the draft. I found this article, but I remember it really well. And in my hippie days I was dead against any fighting, I protested the Vietnam war, we held many rallies, all kinds from drug hazed LSD and reefer smoking concerts to just straight out cussing the government out.
On This Day: Muhammad Ali Convicted of Draft Evasion
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by
Denis Cummings
On June 20, 1967, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali was sentenced to five years in prison for refusing to serve in the military.
Religious Opposition Leads Ali to Draft Evasion
Afterwards,
Ali read a statement explaining his actions: “I have searched my conscience and I find I cannot be true to my belief in my religion by accepting such a call. … If justice prevails, if my Constitutional rights are upheld, I will be forced to go neither to the Army nor jail. In the end I am confident that justice will come my way for the truth must eventually prevail.”
Two months later,
a Houston jury took 21 minutes to convict Ali—still called Cassius Clay in court—of draft evasion. He was given a five-year prison sentence and a $10,000 fine. He would also be stripped of his passport and his heavyweight title, and was banned from fighting in the United States.
“Overnight he became a ‘nigger’ again,” said sportswriter and Ali promoter Harold Conrad, according to Time. “
He threw his life away on one toss of the dice for something he believed in. Not many folks do that.”
Ali was free on appeal, and the judge told him that his sentence would likely be reduced. “Whatever the final sentence,” wrote Time, “it appears unlikely that Clay—still indisputably the best heavyweight in the world—will ever again be a championship contender.”
Later Developments: Clay v. United States; return to boxing
Ali spent the next three years free while his conviction was on appeal lecturing at universities and Muslim gatherings around the United States and gaining support as anti-war sentiment increased.
His appeal would reach the Supreme Court in 1971. In
Clay v. United States, the Court ruled 8-0 that Ali met the three standards for conscientious objector status: that he opposed war in any form, that his beliefs were based on religious teaching and that his objection was sincere. His conviction was reversed.
He returned to boxing in 1970 in an unsanctioned bout against Jerry Quarry. In 1971, he fought undefeated champion Joe Frazier in “The Fight of the Century” for a record purse of $2.5 million. He lost a unanimous decision, but would beat Frazier in their 1974 rematch.
Later that year, he upset champion George Foreman to reclaim the heavyweight championship for the first time since it was stripped away in 1967.
On This Day: Muhammad Ali Convicted of Draft Evasion
