saying that he was a disgrace to America and to the boxing world. After his brutal victory over Ernie Terrell, in which he was accused of thumbing Terrell in the eye and in which he demanded that we call him by his Muslim name, the battle between Ali and the Armed Forces intensified (Hauser,26). Many people supported Ali and picketed outside the United States Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station where the fighter was to be inducted as a draftee. But when Cassius Marcellus Clay was called, the man refused to step forward as he was required to do. After being warned that he would face severe penalties for refusing to cooperate, Ali still refused to step up when Cassius Marcellus Clay was called (Hauser,27). The day that Ali refused to be drafted into the United States Armed Forces, a previous decision for the World Champ to be stripped of his title by the New York State Boxing Commission was ready to take place (Jet). Ali was indicted on May 8, 1967 by a federal grand jury in Houston, Texas (Jet). He still disagreed strongly about taking part in the Vietnam War, and many friends and fellow athletes like Jim Brown, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul-Jabar admired Ali's strong stance (Ebony). But Ali was convicted in the trial vs. the U.S. armed forces on June 19, and although his five-year prison sentence and ten-thousand-dollar fine was overturned, his boxing passport was finished, and the Heavyweight Champ was stripped of his belt (Tyers,30). He was no longer the titleholder, but to the true boxing fans, Muhammad Ali was still the true World Champ. Muhammad Ali was now banned from boxing, but life continued to go on. During Ali's exile, Black and non-Black Americans began to feel where he was coming from and also refused to support the Vietnam War. Ali was determined to get back into the ring to get his title back, and after some going thru politics and an eight-round exhibition with three opponents the Supreme Court decision to ...
