Ali Page #4

in these cute, short things for you.

I am submissive to you.

I ain't gonna be submissive to them

Brother X's and Z's...

about what they think.

They ask me a bunch

of questions all the time anyway.

- What questions?

- About you and us.

- And I ain't telling them sh*t.

- You tell it like it is, sugar.

Took away my boy's name.

What they give him back?

Bad style.

I think you drunk.

Daddy Clay, you're something else.

Now, that's a firecracker right there.

We're gonna have to work with that.

- A scale of one to ten.

- That's right.

I have one-- I had a ten--

Well, I didn't have a ten.

I had a five--

five good twos.

I don't drink. I don't smoke.

I converted to Islam for you.

Okay? I--

All except the dress.

What you doing in my pockets, man?

Get your hand out of my pocket!

- Hold it, my brothers.

- We got a thief in here!

Just be cool.

Be cool.

Brother, you crazy?

They killed Malcolm!

They shot Malcolm! They shot Malcolm!

They shot Malcolm!

...wash it seven times

in the chest and body...

and one in the lower

right shin.

Apparently, the unknown man...

walked up

to the speaker's platform...

at the time

Malcolm X was speaking...

opened fire at him

at very short range.

The arena is surrounded by FBI.

The stands are only half full.

The promoter has taken out

a million-dollar insurance policy...

due to Cassius Clay's membership in

the militant and radical black Muslims.

And, oh, by the way,

Sonny Liston is here too.

Touch gloves

and come out fighting.

Come on, son.

- Come on, Chi-Chi.

- Put a whupping on him now.

Ain't nothing changed.

Whup on him now.

Whup up on him.

Way to go!

- There it is!

- Sock it to him, baby!

Yes!

Get up!

Ain't nobody gonna believe this.

Get up!

Yes!

Confused.

We're confused.

- Check his time.

- Timekeeper's sounding it's over.

Check his time!

It is over!

I think the champ

was in a hurry.

Are you okay?

What's wrong?

Why you all done up like that?

I'm out there dying for you

out of worry.

- Worry?

- Yes.

And all you can think about

is if I look dull enough?

What if I straightened my hair

and moved into some white suburb?

How I am says something.

You want me to go get her?

Not now.

- Not right now, fellas.

- Not now.

- What I got to do?

- About Sonji?

Have no contact with her

for 90 days.

Make a public statement

of divorce at the mosque...

and Islamic law

will be satisfied.

Satisfaction is not making it with

the woman who send you to the moon?

I'm the only normal person

left around here.

I'm a black Jew, I can't read

and I'm half drunk.

I need to talk to you.

- No, you can stay, Brother Herbert.

- Brother? He ain't your brother.

Your brother's taking your wife back

to Chicago. She's crying like a widow.

- Well, I ain't dead.

- Well, you may as well be.

You don't remember your name

or who you are.

You gonna try for Germany?

You gonna try to get

stationed in Germany?

- Everybody is trying to avoid Vietnam.

- What you talkin' about, man?

They changed your classification.

It's in the paper.

- What?

- Champ. Eskridge.

You're 1 A.

They tryin' to draft me in the army?

You know about this?

Okay, here we go.

All right, all right.

Hey, I got to go.

They started runnin'.

You know, so I went down there,

I did everything I was supposed to do...

You know, so I went down there,

I did everything I was supposed to do...

and I flunked

their draft board test.

Then without testing me again,

to see if I'm any wiser or worser...

they decide

I can go in the army?

- Cassius, in my opinion--

- My name ain't Cassius Clay.

That is a slave name,

and I am a free man.

I am Muhammad Ali.

You know, I apologize.

I apologize to you on the air.

Your name is Muhammad Ali.

You have a right to be called

whatever you want.

I apologize to you.

You sure make a lot of mistakes

for a so-called educated man.

- You really went to law school?

- Yes, Muhammad.

And to think I gave up a lucrative

practice for the likes of you.

I'm the best thing

ever happened to you, Cosell.

Without me, you'd be a tall white man

with a microphone in his mouth.

And without me,

you'd be a mouth.

We'll be right back.

- You want some food for that thing?

- How could you do such a thing?

- 'Cause it's funny.

- To someone you revere.

- That thing almost bit my finger off.

- Mr. Bundini...

I'm glad you were here

to witness this-- this assault.

Have a little coffee

with your sugar.

They're coming after you...

because they're scared of

black militancy in the inner cities.

I ain't no H. Rap Brown.

I ain't no Stokely Carmichael.

All they are is political.

You're the heavyweight

champion of the world.

Here's the deal the government offered.

You do six weeks in basic.

You go to the reserves.

You don't go to Vietnam.

Now, the messenger would not object

if you joined under those terms.

I stay out of jail and keep boxing.

If you accept the induction,

life goes on.

Marvin Decker Anderson,

US Army.

Marvin Decker Anderson,

US Army.

Juan Raymondo Benitez,

US Army.

Pryce Marshall Benson,

US Marines.

Cassius Marcellus Clay,

US Army.

Mr. Clay,

I'm required to inform you...

that refusal to accept

a lawful induction order...

constitutes a felony...

under the Universal Military

Training and Service Act...

punishable by

five years imprisonment...

and a $10,000 fine.

Do you understand?

Yes, sir.

Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Mr. Clay, you're under arrest

for refusing induction.

Yeah.

Yeah, this is me.

No, you got to ask Chauncey Eskridge.

That's my lawyer. He's in Chicago.

No, I'm out on bail.

No, man, I ain't never

shot nothin' in my life.

No ducks, no geese,

no deer, no nothin'.

Yeah, I know where Vietnam is.

It's on TV.

Southeast Asia?

What, it's there too?

What do I think about who?

The Vietcong?

Man, I ain't got no quarrel

with them Vietcong.

Ain't no Vietcong

ever called me n*gger.

Yeah, that's right.

You know what you're doin', Ali?

You know what you just said?

Everyone, Europe to China,

every home in America...

everyone's gonna know what the

heavyweight champion of the world...

said about the US war.

So what? So what?

I ain't got to be...

what nobody else

want me to be...

and I ain't afraid to be

what I wanna be...

think how I wanna think.

I got almost nowhere I can

promote a fight for you.

Plus I think they're gonna

vacate you from the crown.

- What?

- Yeah, if you're convicted.

Oh, so they're gonna take from me

what no fighter in the world can.

And New York may revoke

your boxing license.

You sure you wanna do this?

The next three to four years

are every heavyweight's prime.

There are few of those years.

- What about Terrell?

- We'll know about that this afternoon.

I gotta find us some venues fast.

I'll call you later.

You understand the issue is your

license to fight Terrell in Illinois?

Yes.

Then are you prepared

to apologize...

about your unpatriotic remarks

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