MUHAMMAD ALI, the Louisville-born boxing champion who "inspired love and hate -- and finally became a global symbol of peace and reconciliation -- died Friday," according to Hall & Kenning of the Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL. City government building flags will be "lowered to half-staff" and will remain there until he is laid to rest on Friday (Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL, 6/5). In N.Y., Robert Lipsyte wrote Ali had "an agile mind, a buoyant personality, a brash self-confidence and an evolving set of personal convictions," all of which "fostered a magnetism that the ring alone could not contain." He "entertained as much with his mouth as with his fists, narrating his life with a patter of inventive doggerel." Ali was "as polarizing a superstar as the sports world has ever produced." Lipsyte: "Loved or hated, he remained for 50 years one of the most recognizable people on the planet. In later life Ali became something of a secular saint, a legend in soft focus" (N.Y. TIMES, 6/5). The NEW YORKER's David Remnick wrote Ali was the "most fantastical American figure of his era, a self-invented character of such physical wit, political defiance, global fame, and sheer originality that no novelist you might name would dare conceive him." Eventually, Ali "became arguably the most famous person on the planet, known as a supreme athlete, an uncanny blend of power, improvisation, and velocity; a master of rhyming prediction and derision; an exemplar and symbol of racial pride; a fighter, a draft resister, an acolyte, a preacher, a separatist, an integrationist, a comedian, an actor, a dancer, a butterfly, a bee, a figure of immense courage" (NEWYORKER.com, 6/4). In S.F., Vic Tafur wrote Ali was "a product of America but a citizen of the world, at first hated and misunderstood but eventually beloved for the way he carried himself in dignified decline" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 6/4).
LEGEND LOOMS: In N.Y., Mike Lupica wrote Ali was "an amazing, brave, flawed, complicated, unforgettable, incredibly gifted man, in and out of the ring, one of the giants of the 20th century, one who died quiet, but lived loud" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 6/5). In Detroit, Mitch Albom wrote, "We have lost the quintessential athlete of the 20th Century, a man who, in every way, was an original. And if his silent death resonated around the world, his vocal life resonated even more. It will for a long time" (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 6/5). In Philadelphia, Marcus Hayes writes Ali was "just so complicated." He was "a perfect man for an imperfect time, when an athlete's excesses were celebrated instead of censured." Love him or hate him, "no athlete in history has affected the world so dramatically as Ali" (PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS, 6/6).
LEGACY LEFT: USA TODAY's Bob Velin wrote Ali "will be remembered forever, forever, in the history books, as one of the most important people of our time" (USATODAY.com, 6/5). In Houston, Jerome Solomon wrote America "might not have been ready for Ali, but his destiny -- fueled by a power that emanated as much from conviction and charisma as from physical tools -- couldn't be contained by ignorance, fear or racism" (HOUSTON CHRONICLE, 6/5). The New Yorker’s Remnick said Ali was a "revolutionary in terms of race by standing up for things that a lot of people were not yet standing up for." Remnick: "At the same time, he gave up a lot for his politics and he was criticized -- and even vilified -- by many people” (“GMA,” ABC, 6/4). ESPN's T.J. Quinn wrote, "By rejecting white society for part of his career, Ali tested the limits of what America’s mainstream liberalism would tolerate." His evolution into pitchman and peacemaker "made him a touchstone safely within any margin of dispute" (THEUNDEFEATED.com, 6/4). The Undefeated’s Jesse Washington: “It’s remarkable how his image changed over time and how America at large was really able to go from a place of revulsion and disdain for him to embracing him for the humanity that he brought to this nation” (“SportsCenter,” ESPN, 6/4).
EDITORIALS: A CHICAGO TRIBUNE editorial stated Ali was one of the era's "most intriguing characters." That he "could think separated him from the pack" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 6/5). A CHICAGO SUN-TIMES editorial stated Ali was a "man of consequence, thinking and speaking freely. He stood up for his beliefs, and he would not be knocked down" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 6/5). A SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE editorial stated that of all famous American athletes -- "perhaps of all Americans -- only JACKIE ROBINSON was a peer." Imagine if a pro athlete "in the media-saturated world" of '16 was "a simultaneous symbol of principle, defiance, excellence and charm" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 6/5).
