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Muhammad Ali Research Paper

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Muhammad Ali, aka “The Greatest of All Time”, aka “The People’s Champion” and aka “The Louisville Lip”, is one of four athletes who graces my sports Mount Rushmore, a place reserved for athletes considered bigger than the sport they participated in. The other three include Babe Ruth, Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan. Each of their faces can be carved in that mountain, because we’ll likely never see anyone like them again. Whether you respect his wishes and refer to him as Muhammad Ali, or don’t and take the “His momma named him Clay, I’mma him Clay” approach from Coming to America and call him Cassius Clay, there’s no denying that he influenced a myriad of athletes after making his mark on the world.

After taking home the gold at the 1960 …show more content…

Later admitting that he adopted the persona from legendary 1940s-‘50s wrestler “Gorgeous” George Wagner, the attitude toward competition often made Ali the man you love to …show more content…

"Obviously, we knew how great of a boxer he was, but I think that was only 20 percent of what made him as great as he was," James told reporters in Oakland, Calif. during a press conference for the NBA Finals. "What he stood for, I mean, it's a guy who basically had to give up a belt and relish everything that he had done because of what he believed in and ended up in jail because of his beliefs. It's a guy who stood up for so many different things throughout the times where it was so difficult for African-Americans to even walk in the streets."

One can look at a man like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who changed is name from Lou Alcindor, as another great athlete that Ali influenced. Would Abdul-Jabbar have had the courage to change his name if not for Ali? It’s tough to say. Ali gave athletes the strength and knowledge that they can live their lives the way they want to and not have to live up to the “ideal” blueprint model of the All-American

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