Ali: Anti-war icon

Ali's principled and courageous stand against the war exploded across US society and the wider world like a hurricane, especially as it came early in 1966 when the war was still in its infancy and broadly supported. His draft status had been reclassified 1-A, which meant he was eligible to serve. Up to then he had been deemed ineligible for the draft due to poor test results.

Ali's famous quote to the press, "I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong," resounded across the world. It was delivered spontaneously after hours of being badgered by reporters for his response to being reclassified. The next three years would never be the same and afterwards neither would the US.

The nation's leading sports writers of the period lined up to attack Ali in the days and weeks following his outburst, which dominated both the front and back pages.

It is notable that none of those writers were willing to acknowledge or respect the fact that Ali had changed his name two years previously in 1964 and was no longer called Cassius Clay. A small sample of their sentiments at the time is instructive.

Red Smith: "Squealing over the possibility that the military may call him up, Cassius makes himself as sorry a spectacle as those unwashed punks who picket and demonstrate against the war."

Milton Gross: "As a fighter, Cassius is good. As a man, he cannot compare to some of the kids slogging through the rice paddies where the names are stranger than Muhammad Ali."

Murray Robinson: "For his stomach-turning performance, boxing should throw Clay out on his inflated head."

Immediately following his remark, calls for ending his ability to box grew to a crescendo.

Largely at the behest of the Chicago Tribune, the Illinois State Athletic Commission decided in late February to re-examine its sanctioning of Ali's scheduled fight the following month against Ernie Terrell in Chicago.

The fight's promoters, attempting to salvage the bout, arranged for Ali to appear before the state's commission to apologise for his remarks. They were in for a surprise when Ali - young, proud and defiant - used the opportunity to reaffirm his right to his own opinion. "I don't have to apologise," he said. "I'm not in court."

The same day the Illinois State Attorney announced that the Ali-Terrell bout was cancelled on the grounds that it violated state law.

Desperately, the promoters attempted to find another venue, only to find that a domino effect had been unleashed. In short order Louisville, Miami, Pittsburgh and half a dozen other cities were considered. In each case political pressure vetoed the fight.

Meanwhile in the media the attacks on Ali continued. Arthur Daley, in the New York Times, wrote: "Clay could have been the most popular of all champions. But he attached himself to a hate organisation (The Nation of Islam) and antagonised everyone with his boasting and his disdain for even a low-grade patriotism."

Former champion Billy Conn said: "I'll never go to another one of his fights. He is a disgrace to the boxing profession. And I think that any American who pays to see him fight after what he has said should be ashamed."

Ali suffered this level of public attack all the way through to April 1967 when he was called to be formerly inducted into the army. Amid a media scrum, he duly arrived at the United States Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station in Houston to be processed.

One of 26 who had been called to be inducted that morning, Ali was the only one who refused to take the step forward when called. He was summoned forward twice and twice refused.

It was a seminal moment, not only in Ali's life but in the social history of the United States, its impact felt by the black liberation and civil rights movements, the burgeoning anti-Vietnam war movement and all over the world among a new generation of activists determined to bring about social change.

An hour after Ali refused induction into the armed forces the New York State Athletic Commission suspended his boxing licence. Every other state athletic commission did likewise and Ali was stripped of his title.

It was a period in history in which he stood alone against a tide of militarism and reaction in a society that has since embraced him. He faced prison and financial ruin, and his passport was confiscated to ensure that he wouldn't be able to make a living outside the country.

Yet for the three years of exile from the ring that he endured he grew in stature and with it strength. Speaking at colleges throughout the country, he resonated with young people of every race and background as a man of deep conviction. His defiance in the face of such massive odds inspired more and more to follow his example.

When he returned to the ring in 1970 it was as a hero. He had defied the mightiest government in the world and emerged as a symbol of justice and hope for millions of poor people in the US and beyond.

He truly was the lion that roared.