FRONT PAGE

LOCAL NEWS:
   DANCE
   CUPID'S BALL
   THE WALK
   MLS DRAFT
  
NATIONAL:
   WAR NEWS
        RADIO

INTERNATIONAL:
   CARTOON
        ANGER

BLOGS:
   DAVE
   JAKE
   SEAN
   CHRISTINA
   STEPHEN

PROFS AS
        PEOPLE

MUHAMMAD 
        ALI

CALENDAR

HISTORY LINK

WORLD AT
        A CLICK

CONTACT US
 

President calls Ali 'One of the greatest athletes of all time'
Louisvillian also honored as a man of peace

By James R. Carroll
jcarroll@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal

WASHINGTON -- After placing the Presidential Medal of Freedom around Muhammad Ali's neck, President Bush shook hands with the boxing great, hugged him and then put up his fists as if to spar.

Ali twirled his right finger beside his head, signaling that he thought the president had taken leave of his senses.

And Bush laughed, joining a long line of victims of Ali's humorous exchanges.

The Louisville native received the nation's highest civilian award yesterday for his memorable defeats of the many men who got into the ring with him and for his work for peace and justice.

"Only a few athletes are ever known as the greatest in their sport, or in their time," Bush said. "But when you say, 'The Greatest of All Time' is in the room, everyone knows who you mean.

"It's quite a claim to make -- but as Muhammad Ali once said, 'It's not bragging if you can back it up.' "

The audience in the White House East Room filled with laughter.

"And this man backed it up," Bush said.

Ali was among 14 people presented the Medal of Freedom yesterday. Ali did not speak during the ceremony, and neither did the other recipients.

Ali, 63, is suffering from Parkinson's disease and was treated recently for a back and neck condition. He walked slowly and a bit unsteadily into the ceremony, with his wife, Lonnie Ali, on one arm and a military escort on his other side.

Ali and the other honorees sat during most of the ceremony. At one point, Ali looked out at the banks of cameras while Bush was talking, widened his eyes and slowly raised his hand, pointing at the photographers.

They obliged in a machine-gun-like cacophony of whirring shutters.

"From the day he won the gold medal at the 1960 Olympic Games, we all knew there was something special about this young fighter from Louisville, Kentucky," Bush said.

"And his record of 56 and 5, including 37 knockouts and 19 successful title defenses, hardly begins to get the story. Far into the future, fans and students of boxing will study the films, and some will even try to copy his style.

"But certain things defy imitation: the Ali shuffle, the lightning jabs, the total command of the ring, and, above all, the sheer guts and determination he brought to every fight.

"This is a man who once fought more than 10 rounds with a fractured jaw. And he fought to complete exhaustion -- and victory -- in that legendary clash of greats in Manila," Bush said, referring to a fight with Joe Frazier.

Then, turning toward Ali, the president said: "The real mystery, I guess, is how he stayed so pretty."

Ali made a motion to his face, as if he were applying makeup. Bush and the audience laughed.

"It probably had to do with his beautiful soul," Bush continued. "He was a fierce fighter and he's a man of peace, just like Odessa and Cassius Clay Sr. believed their son could be.

"Across the world, billions of people know Muhammad Ali as a brave, compassionate and charming man, and the American people are proud to call Muhammad Ali one of our own."

When Ali's name was called to receive the medal, he walked to Bush's side -- mostly without help. He buttoned the jacket of his suit and stood alone, motionless, as a citation was read.

Ali and his family, through a spokesman, declined a request for an interview.

Michael Fox, president of Louisville's Muhammad Ali Center, which is scheduled to open Nov. 19, attended the White House ceremony.

"On behalf of the Muhammad Ali Center, we join with Muhammad and his family in this most joyful time of his life with these two major events occurring back to back -- his receiving this prestigious award today and the opening of his international center next week," Fox said.

"We are so proud and happy for him, the community of Louisville and our nation."

Back in Louisville, Carrie Skidmore, 32, a Louisville homemaker, said she was pleased to see Ali honored.

"He's a member of the city. He's important," she said.

Eleven years ago, she and her late sister, Connie, encountered Ali unexpectedly in a Louisville Wal-Mart.

"He was the one who put his arm around me first," Skidmore recalled. "I thought, OK, and I put my arm around him. ... He was very nice."

She still has a picture that was taken that day with the champ.

Rep. Anne Northup, R-3rd District, said she remembers crowding around the radio with her father and her siblings to listen to Ali's bouts.

"I wasn't a big boxing fan. I was a big Muhammad Ali fan," Northup said. " … He's such an icon in Louisville. Not only was he an athletic champion, but he was somebody that, really, our community rallied around."

In 1967, however, Ali refused to serve in the Army during the Vietnam War. He was stripped of his title and given a five-year sentence for refusing military service, but the sentence was overturned on appeal.

Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., attended yesterday's ceremony, sitting only a few feet from Ali and Frank Robinson, manager of the Washington Nationals and like Bunning a baseball Hall of Fame member.

Robinson also received a Medal of Freedom yesterday.

"Marvelous -- Ali and Frank," Bunning said as he left the White House.