We've got your back - In support of Muhammad Ali

On June 4, 1967, a cadre of America’s most outstanding African American athletes gathered in the offices of the Black Economic Union in Cleveland, Ohio. This group, which included Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bobby Mitchell, and Jim Brown, was not gathering to discuss contracts, agencies, or endorsement deals. There was no option for all of the assembled athletes to move to one city and form some sort of multisport dream team. There were no catchy nicknames, festive parades or forthcoming announcements. The decision that this group arrived at would not be revealed on a 60-minute special on ESPN–even though they had a monumental decision to make. Their reason for sitting down together was to decide whether or not to stand together and support Muhammad Ali. In April 1967, Ali famously refused induction into the U.S. military on the grounds of his objections to the Vietnam War, which were based on his religious beliefs as a member of the Nation of Islam. Ali was set to stand trial for his refusal to be drafted late in June. Jim Brown, then retired from the Cleveland Browns, summoned the top African American professional athletes to his offices to meet with Ali and decide whether or not to lend him their support.
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