海角大神

There are four people in the world Kilbert Pierce says he鈥檇 like to have been able to meet, shake hands with, and thank. One is Muhammad Ali.

And it isn鈥檛 just because the boxing icon, who passed away last Friday, inspired Mr. Pierce to become a boxer himself. Pierce, now a trainer at The Ring boxing club in Boston, says he was inspired by 鈥渢he full monty鈥� of Mr. Ali, specifically everything he did outside the ring.

One of his favorite Ali tapes, for example, isn鈥檛 of a fight. It鈥檚 of Ali talking to white college students during his three-year ban from boxing, a ban imposed after he was convicted of dodging the Vietnam War draft. (That conviction was later reversed unanimously by the Supreme Court.)

鈥淭hey were firing questions at him, and he had an answer to everything,鈥� says Pierce. 鈥淗e wasn鈥檛 some ... boneheaded athlete. He was smart.鈥�

Leaning back in a chair in The Ring鈥檚 air-conditioned office, he shakes his head.聽鈥淭he athletes today, everything is 鈥榤e, me, me,鈥� 鈥� he adds. 鈥淚 think money has gotten involved. There鈥檚 too much now. I just think everything is money, money, money.鈥�

He is not the only one who thinks the model Ali epitomized has waned. Yet in some ways, it鈥檚 a testament to this heavyweight鈥檚 enduring legacy that Pierce is voicing this view 鈥� and that so many around the world are remembering Ali as prayer and memorial services are held Thursday and Friday in his home town of Louisville, Ky.

Ali, perhaps more than any other athlete of renown, adopted political and moral activism as an essential part of his public life. And Ali鈥檚 embrace of Islam 鈥� which led him to shed his 鈥渟lave鈥� name of Cassius Clay 鈥� was part of a public stand for black pride and a demand for black respect at a pivotal moment in the civil rights era.

Add in his boxing prowess and braggadocious style, and it is perhaps little wonder that no athletes today are approaching his stature as an athlete so publicly engaged in politics.

But why aren't more of them trying?

Some are. A boycott by football players at the University of Missouri last year over racial issues brought down the school's president. But no single figure across the American sports landscape comes close to Ali.

Where is today's Ali?

In some ways, times have simply changed from his era of upheaval, when black Americans in the South faced聽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.

鈥淢ost athletes, especially star athletes, seem more interested in staying quiet and collecting checks,鈥� says Maurice Hobson, an assistant professor of African-American studies at Georgia State University, who played college football for the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Today鈥檚 athletes grew up in the Michael Jordan era, experts note, when the Chicago Bulls star continually 鈥� reportedly telling a friend once that 鈥淩epublicans buy sneakers too.鈥�

And Mr. Jordan鈥檚 mantra of brand-over-belief may have only grown as professional sports have become more lucrative. More money 鈥� in salaries and endorsements 鈥� means more to lose, and athletes have admitted that the financial risks of being politically outspoken are too high for many.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just the society we live in,鈥� Andre Iguodala, of the National Basketball Association's Golden State Warriors, told the . 鈥淚t鈥檚 really tough, because guys might think they鈥檙e going to lose their situation. The way society says,聽鈥業f you follow these guidelines and walk a straight line, you鈥檒l be taken care of financially.鈥櫬犫��

The cost of speaking out

Chris Kluwe is one professional athlete who says he has been victimized for not toeing the line. The former National Football League punter that he was cut from the Minnesota Vikings roster for publicly supporting same-sex marriage. In an interview with ThinkProgress, he said that professional football teams have taken on 鈥渁 very corporate mentality.鈥�

鈥淲e have this broad business, and we want to appeal to as many people as possible, so we鈥檙e going to try to not offend anyone,鈥� he .

鈥淵ou鈥檙e made aware of that as a player,鈥� he added. 鈥淭eams are very much aware of that brand awareness and they want to do everything in their power to make sure it鈥檚 not rocking the boat, so that as many people as possible will come watch football games.鈥�

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

鈥淚t鈥檚 a quieter activism, it鈥檚 a safer form of activism,鈥� he adds. 鈥淭hese athletes came of age in a different political climate, and they have been discouraged to be politically active because it has not been economically wise to do so.鈥�

Yet even in the 1960s 鈥� seen as a golden age of political activism in sports 鈥� Ali and athletes like Bill Russell and Jim Brown were the exceptions. More common were athletes like Willie Mays, whomfor lacking political engagement.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not like if you go back to the 鈥�60s every black athlete was politically active,鈥� says Kevin Blackistone, a visiting professor at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland and a sports columnist for The Washington Post.

鈥淵ou had some black athletes who were active and some who were not,鈥� he adds, 鈥渁nd we have the very same thing today.鈥�

Molded by the times

Outspoken athletes like Ali, Mr. Russell and Mr. Brown were also molded by their environments and the political events of their careers. Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton grew up in Atlanta, but not in Jim Crow-era Atlanta. America is involved in several wars today, but there is no draft for Warriors point guard Stephen Curry to dodge, even if he wanted to.

And while Ali took many of his political views deliberately, he also benefited from circumstance, says Dr. Smith, author of the book 鈥淏lood Brothers: The Fatal Friendship Between Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X.鈥�

鈥淲hen he was drafted, he was thrust into a position where he has to evaluate his political views, his political identities,鈥� Smith adds. 鈥淗e goes through an evolutionary process, a self-teaching period.鈥�

Throughout his subsequent three-year ban from boxing, when he made many of his college speeches, he further refined his politics.

鈥淲hen he wasn鈥檛 boxing, it forced him to examine his own identity and who he was beyond being a boxer,鈥� Smith says.

Today鈥檚 athletes could go through a similar evolution, experts say. Ali could speak out, knowing the civil rights movement would back him. In today鈥檚 era of the Black Lives Matter movement 鈥� which is taking several cues from the Black Power movement of the 1960s 鈥� contemporary athletes could find similar support.

Many already have, says Professor Blackistone. Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James tweeted his support of Trayvon Martin after the 17-year-old was shot and killed in Florida. A few years later, a number of NBA teams wore 鈥淚 Can鈥檛 Breathe鈥� T-shirts in reference to Eric Garner, a black man who suffocated while being arrested in New York in 2014. Others are speaking out on issues like marriage or pay equality.

New times, new opportunities?

But in some ways there is room for today鈥檚 athletes to be even more political than Ali鈥檚 generation, particularly star athletes, some argue. In Ali鈥檚 day, professional athletes made just enough money to be comfortable. Many worked other jobs in the off-season. During his ban, Ali spoke at those colleges as much out of economic necessity as political motivation.

The money in contemporary sports 鈥渕ay in some ways insulate them鈥� from the financial retribution Ali suffered for speaking out, Blackistone says. And with social movements like Black Lives Matter gaining momentum and political recognition, more people may want athletes to speak out than they realize.

Pierce, the trainer at The Ring, doesn鈥檛 think athletes should be obligated to express their political opinions given their fame and status. But he values those who do all the more. The other three people he would have liked to meet, besides Ali? Bill Russell, Jim Brown, and Bruce Lee.

鈥淲hat they went through, how they responded. I think that鈥檚 what made them great for me,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat made them appeal more to me than other athletes.鈥�