Praise of boxing legend Muhammad Ali has been nearly universal following his passing Friday night, and while most tributes refer to his character and his prowess in the ring, several outlets are celebrating Ali as a hero for his activism, in particular his opposition to the Vietnam War.
muhammad ali was pushing for reparations when it was even less popular than it is now pic.twitter.com/x9pkI6wlwA
— Maxwell Strachan (@maxwellstrachan) June 4, 2016
I wrote about how Muhammad Ali became the most hated, then beloved athlete ever + athlete activism then and now https://t.co/yXLYYYtoVQ
— Justin Block (@JBlock49) June 4, 2016
Tennessee State Representative Martin Daniel isn’t the only person to criticize Muhammad Ali over Vietnam, although he did himself no favors with the public by referring to Ali as Cassius Clay while doing so.
Cassius Clay was a skilled, great boxer, but failure to to enlist in the US military when the call was made is black cloud on his character
— Rep. Martin Daniel (@RepMartinDaniel) June 4, 2016
Daniel followed up with the knockout … which has since been deleted. Here’s a screen shot, though.
Too soon? At the very least.
@RepMartinDaniel Take your opinion, roll it up tight, stick it in your eye and take a long dive into an empty pool.
— Jon Macqueen (@jonmacqueen) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel Are you fucking kidding me? You are garbage for this.
— (^._.^)~ (@chocl8girl) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel That was not his name.
— Two Ears & A Heart (@MadJaymilton) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel Say his name motherfucker
— willenial (@elgrantonina) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel HIS NAME is Mohammed Ali!!
— crimsonboudoir (@crimsonboudoir) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel His name was Muhammad Ali, son. Write that down.
— Dave (@D_v_E) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel Not using his own chosen name? Yeah, you're a big dick.
— DesertMan (@SouthOVegas) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel Way to go there, using Muhammad Ali's slave name. That's dog-whistle politics at its finest! (So I take it you DID enlist?)
— Scott Edelman (@scottedelman) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel He was a conscientious objector and his name was Mohammed Ali you jerk.
— (((Brad Bratcher))) (@BradBratcher) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel you disrespect him by calling him by his slave name. A name he didn't acknowledge becuz u deny him as a Black man
— 180ProofTruth (@klpqueen) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel Calling him Cassius Clay after he rejected that name casts a black cloud on your character. And you need votes, unlike he.
— No, YOU move. (@SamuraiKnitter) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel the Supreme Court ruled #MuhammadAli had the right to resist the draft and you're an embarrassment to your office
— ديانا (@ChahtaMs) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel I'm gonna make it my duty now to let everyone know that ur a sorry human being and racist. #RIPMuhammadAli
— Donnell R (@Regiment54) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel you're the one still calling him by the slave name he rejected, but he's the one with the "black cloud", heh?
— Ali Hassan (@StandUpAli) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel The draft was intensely racist; Ali made himself a proud example of resistance, inspired millions of others, black & white.
— Mister Bunny (@AskMisterBunny) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel Racism is "calling out" a black man who accecpted jail over the draft while supporting a draft-dodging white guy for POTUS.
— Alex Bowles (@alexqgb) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel That war was a 'black cloud" on America's legacy. A total crime and a waste of precious blood.
— bluemax (@flocktard) June 4, 2016
that’s weird ur bio must overlook your military service https://t.co/8DgBhmlsAO https://t.co/38NUbZNZgf
— andy levy (@andylevy) June 4, 2016
This might be the worst tweet in the history of Twitter. Congrats. @RepMartinDaniel
— Zesty Eckstein News (@CFBalla) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel Dumbest Tweet Award ?
— Ms. Justice (@soulful_chica) June 4, 2016
.@RepMartinDaniel sorry, but what kind of coward waits until someone's dead to criticize their character?
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel delete your account.
— Mark Harris (@MCHisTweeting) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel go put your hood on and burn a cross
— pacifistHULK (@pacifistHULK) June 4, 2016
@RepMartinDaniel kill yourself
— Guillermo 🙁 (@groditi) June 4, 2016
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