Ali, a once-controversial convert to Islam who lost three prime years of his boxing career for refusing US military service during the Vietnam War, died a week ago at age 74 as one of the most respected men in the United States.
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“He is gone, but he will never die, he was my big brother”.
“What does it say of a man, any man, that he can go from being viewed as one of his country’s most polarizing figures to arguably its most beloved?” sportscaster Bryant Gumbel told the service, which was led by Iman Abdul Shakir, one of Ali’s spiritual mentors. “Society has to change and I will always remember him”, Frances Woods said. I seen him in the ring with killers, guys that hit much harder than I, and he takes these guys’ greatest punches and that’s what made him such a champion.
Muhammad Ali’s widow spoke eloquently of her husband’s strength of character and the inspiration his life might be to others.
The mayor encouraged people to throw flowers and bring “smiles and maybe a tear or two as well”. Our job now, as a city, is to send him off with the class and dignity and respect that he deserves. Former Ali opponents George Foreman and Larry Holmes were also expected to be in attendance.
A lot of people in Louisville surely had their own Ali stories to tell. Former President Bill Clinton and comedian Billy Crystal joined Muhammad’s wife Lonnie and an array of interfaith representatives including Orrin Hatch and Pastor Kevin Crosby onstage to remember the impact the elite athlete had on humanity. Muhammad Ali’s family then made their way to a private ceremony at the Ali Center just blocks away.
He said: “His jab knocked some sense into us and pushed us to expand our imagination”. “But he was generous, he was nice”.
“But where others saw difference, Ali and I saw kinship”, he added.
They talked about where they were when Ali fought, how they felt when he took a stand.
That’s how it was with Ali. The funeral procession followed was attended by tens of thousands of fans.
“Thirty five years after he stopped fighting he is still the champion of the world”, Crystal said. Instead of asking to be paid to babysit, he wanted nothing more than bologna sandwiches. “I think there is a fear that the media can turn on you and talk bad on you. But he proved me wrong”. “Ali!” when a Muslim religious leader welcomed the audience to “the home of the people’s champ”. The children were those of a friend, and Hunsberger to drive the twin 9-year-olds seven hours to witness history in a way that would have seemed unimaginable 55 years earlier. “His personality and his character overrides all that”, she said.
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Marveling at the outpouring of support, Lonnie Ali said the condolences for her family had “come in every language, from every corner of the globe”.
