The American Spectator

AmSpecBlog

Re: Sweet Science

By Paul Beston on 11.25.05 @ 9:14PM

Wlady: The NY Times’ William Rhoden had a similarly fawning piece on the Ali shrine earlier this week. At this point, I’m numb. I wonder what is next – an Ali monument on the Washington mall?

What’s most threatening to my turkey leftovers is that phrase from Clinton’s speech alleging that Ali was “a force for peace and reconciliation, understanding and respect.” Would it be asking too much if just one of those four terms could be true? More accurate to say that the media, as it slowly became colonized by Boomers in their “long march through the institutions,” forced peace and reconciliation with Ali onto the rest of us. Read the press reaction to Ali in the 1960s from some of the old guard of the sporting press. Easily dismissed as narrow-minded or racist today (and with reason in some cases), their outrage at Ali’s behavior was nevertheless justified. You don’t hear so much as a mild reservation expressed today.

As for understanding: ask Joe Frazier about understanding. As for respect: look around at our sporting culture for whatever dim embers of respect have not been extinguished by Ali and his progeny.