Wooten (back row, far right) helped gather the athletes who supported Muhammad Ali in what became known as the “Ali Summit” during his 1967 Vietnam War protest. In the famous photo, Ali is joined by Bill Russell (front row, far left), Jim Brown (front row, second from right) and a young Lew Alcindor (front row, far right), along with several other top athletes at the time.Getty Images
The familiar black-and-white photo hangs on the wall of John Wooten’s family room joined by a select few others that evoke pleasant memories or mark special occasions.
Seated at a table lined with microphones and recorders is Muhammad Ali, flanked by Bill Russell, Jim Brown and a young Lew Alcindor — an unprecedented gathering of both athletic achievement and social activism. Standing behind them are future Cleveland Mayor Carl Stokes and seven NFL players from that era, including eventual hall of famers Bobby Mitchell and Willie Davis. At the far rights stands Wooten, who had been selected to the Pro Bowl the previous two seasons.
The “Ali Summit,” as it came to be known, was regarded as a watershed moment when it convened on June 4, 1967. With Ali widely reviled and facing the possibility of a jail sentence for his refusal to serve in the Vietnam War, Brown sought to lend help by bringing together a compelling mix of athletes who might convince Ali to reach a compromise with the government, which they would then support at a news conference meant to engender public support.
While Brown had grown close to Ali and had his best interest at heart, there were also business implications. One season removed from the NFL, Brown’s mix of post-career interests included the founding of the Cleveland-based Negro Industrial and Economic Union, a nonprofit economic development organization in which Wooten served as executive director. Brown also was a stakeholder in Main Bout, the recently formed company that held promotional rights to Ali.
When Ali’s managers called Brown to tell him that Ali had refused induction, the implications were clear. If jailed, he couldn’t fight. And if he couldn’t fight, Main Bout couldn’t promote him. That would affect not only Brown, but a handful of other former players who hoped to operate closed-circuit locations in local markets.
After speaking to Ali’s management, Brown called Wooten with a plan.
“Get the guys together,” Brown told Wooten. “We’ve got to support the champ.”
“So I’m getting on the phone to call every single guy you saw in that picture,” Wooten said. “And the amazing thing about it is, not one single guy said, ‘Who is going to pay for this?’ It was: ‘Where do you want us and what time is the meeting.’”
Gathered in a meeting room at the Cleveland Hilton, the players peppered Ali with questions and challenges. They wanted to know more about his opposition. Several who served in the military asked Ali why he wouldn’t accept the compromise, which would keep him out of combat if he made morale-boosting visits to U.S. troops. Doing so would mean he could keep the heavyweight title and continue to fight.
Ali steadfastly defended his position, and his religion, deftly fielding one question after another.
From left, Wooten, Brown, Russell and Bobby Mitchell stood by Ali again during the Ali Humanitarian Awards in 2014.AP Images
“We must have been in that meeting for three or four hours, because everybody had questions and had something to say,” Wooten said. “And it finally comes down to Jim asking, ‘What are we going to do.’ And everybody said, ‘We’re going to support the champ.’”
From there, they went to the offices of the NIEU, where they staged the press conference that yielded the photo. Ali announced that he intended to stand by his decision, and Brown, Russell and Alcindor pledged their support of his rights as a conscientious objector.
Last year, on the 50th anniversary of that meeting, Wooten frequently was asked to reflect back upon it.
“People ask all the time — weren’t you guys afraid of losing your jobs?” Wooten said. “That same old thing: Heads are going to roll. It never even came up. Not with one single guy.”
When Wooten watched the Colin Kaepernick controversy unfold over the last two NFL seasons, he couldn’t help flashing back to his experience standing behind Ali. He said that he and Brown saw a parallel. They wanted to encourage Kaepernick to speak up in defense of his position, as Ali did. They even envisioned an event similar to the Ali Summit, where other prominent, socially conscious athletes from across sports could lend their support.
Wooten said Brown approached “Kaepernick’s people” about the proposal.
“For whatever reason, Colin or whoever was advising him couldn’t see that the best thing to do was stand up,” Wooten said. “It’s too bad, because what we did with [Ali] was a great success.”
Not only for Ali, but for others associated with it.
“As executive director of the [NIEU], it put me in a position to know how you have to fight, and how you have to draw the line to make your fight,” Wooten said. “As I tell people all the time, you’re not going to get me to play a racial card. Do I advocate for minorities? Yes. But you’re not going to get me saying black and white and this and that. I’ve been blessed by too many people of all different colors.”
