SPORTS HISTORY IN BLACK: Ali indicted for refusing induction into Army

Muhammad Ali was a great boxer. He could not only beat his opponents with his skill but also with his mind. Ali was mentally strong in the ring and out of it. He was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1966 but did not want to enlist because he had ethical and religious
objections to the Vietnam War. The country threatened to put him in jail, and they eventually started the process of trying to make that a reality.

Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali is pictured being escorted from the Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station in Houston, Texas, on April 28, 1967, by Lt. Col. J. Edwin McKee, commandant of the station, after Ali refused Army induction.  Photo credit: The Associated Press
Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali is pictured being escorted from the Armed Forces Examining and Entrance Station in Houston, Texas, on April 28, 1967, by Lt. Col. J. Edwin McKee, commandant of the station, after Ali refused Army induction. Photo credit: The Associated Press

A federal grand jury indicted Ali on May 8, 1967, for refusing induction into the U.S. Army. He would eventually be sentenced to five years in jail and a $10,000 fine for draft evasion. But four years later, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the decision. Ali never served jail time and never flinched, standing up for what he believed was right and fighting the sentence the entire way.

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