Though Muhammad Ali was not one to skirt with the concept of breaking the law and resorting to aggressive means to ensure his survival outside of the ring, but he was known to stir controversy when his opinions, often strong, were to clash with the established norms and issues of the time. One of the most notable examples was his eventual arrest and conviction upon refusing to serve in the armed forces during the Vietnam War.
An institution that was one of the primary elements of the counter-culture of the 60s was the act of drafting soldiers to fight in the Vietnam War, a conflict that was waged with the objective of stopping the then-threat of communism throughout South East Asia. With the Johnson administration focusing on ending the war …show more content…
When he stated he would not serve on April 28, 1967, he was stripped of his boxing heavyweight title. He famously sated “I ain 't got no quarrel with those Vietcong”, a personal sentiment that was a far more reasonable and practical ideal when compared to those who avoided service out of rebellion against the system, or simply to avoid the horrors of war.
On June 20th, he was convicted of evading the draft and sentenced to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine and three year ban from professional boxing. Though he was convicted at trial, he ultimately avoided serving time in prison after appeal. Wasting no time in showing the world that his legal issues had affected his in-ring acumen, he knocked out Jerry Quarry on March 8, 1971 upon his return to …show more content…
As recently as this past June, Senator Rand Paul introduced legislation that would effectively dismantle the selective service, and has named it the Muhammad Ali Bill. Citing the lack of necessity for it in present times do to the already massive outreach of the United States across the world and a focus on arming/training nations we are tasked to defend (as opposed to “boots-on-the-ground”) and the problems forced conscription can bring, it calls for an end to the entire branch, thus leaving the military on a permanent volunteer-force
An institution that was one of the primary elements of the counter-culture of the 60s was the act of drafting soldiers to fight in the Vietnam War, a conflict that was waged with the objective of stopping the then-threat of communism throughout South East Asia. With the Johnson administration focusing on ending the war …show more content…
When he stated he would not serve on April 28, 1967, he was stripped of his boxing heavyweight title. He famously sated “I ain 't got no quarrel with those Vietcong”, a personal sentiment that was a far more reasonable and practical ideal when compared to those who avoided service out of rebellion against the system, or simply to avoid the horrors of war.
On June 20th, he was convicted of evading the draft and sentenced to five years in prison, a $10,000 fine and three year ban from professional boxing. Though he was convicted at trial, he ultimately avoided serving time in prison after appeal. Wasting no time in showing the world that his legal issues had affected his in-ring acumen, he knocked out Jerry Quarry on March 8, 1971 upon his return to …show more content…
As recently as this past June, Senator Rand Paul introduced legislation that would effectively dismantle the selective service, and has named it the Muhammad Ali Bill. Citing the lack of necessity for it in present times do to the already massive outreach of the United States across the world and a focus on arming/training nations we are tasked to defend (as opposed to “boots-on-the-ground”) and the problems forced conscription can bring, it calls for an end to the entire branch, thus leaving the military on a permanent volunteer-force