Athlete as Moral Crusader: Is the Muhammad Ali Model Lost?

Posted June 9, 2016

External Article: The Christian Science Monitor

“Athlete as Moral Crusader: Is the Muhammed Ali Model Lost?” quotes School of History and Sociology assistant professor, John M. Smith, Ph.D.

From The Christian Science Monitor article:

In some ways, times have simply changed from his era of upheaval, when black Americans in the South faced not just Jim Crow discrimination but also lynchings. Moreover, athletes also are never cut from a common personality mold. And as Ali himself showed, none are paragons of unalloyed moral perfection.

But, even as some sports stars do take public political stands today, many observers say they could do more.

Athletes now prefer to be active in less confrontational ways – like giving to charities, funding scholarships, and investing in poor communities, says Johnny Smith, a historian at Georgia Tech.

Read the full article on The Christian Science Monitor here.