|
Cassius Clay: the racist treatment of an Olympic winner
The name of Cassius Clay - later known as Muhammad Ali, when he embraced the Koran - has been associated with the greatest moments of  professional boxing worldwide. However, the outstanding career of the American boxer began with his participation in the 1960 Rome Olympics.
He was born in January 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky and took up boxing as early as from his school years. So, by 1959 he was champion of his country in the middleweight category, something that was repeated the following year. As expected, in 1960 he was included in the Olympic boxing team of the USA, in order to compete in the 81-kg category. In the event's final he beat easily his Polish opponent and won the gold medal.
After that Clay's career in professional boxing was full of distinctions. His choice to give up amateur sport did not allow him to participate in the Olympic Games again. He only appeared at the opening ceremony of the 1996 Atlanta Olympics as a guest of honour.
Nevertheless, the great contribution of the American boxer to American sport was not acknowledged by all his fellow countrymen. When he returned to his hometown after becoming an Olympic winner he was the victim of the racist mentality that many members of the American society had at that time and especially in the South.
More precisely, young Clay, enthusiastic as he was over his great success in the Olympic Games of Rome, never parted with his medal for many days after he returned home. Wherever he went, he had it hung around his neck and, according to people who knew him well, he even slept with it. One day, overlooking the fact that he was black, he went with a friend to a restaurant, wearing and showing off his medal proudly. However, he did not notice the sign that the owners of the shop had hung, which read that entrance to coloured citizens was not allowed. Despite the fact that he revealed his identity and his status as an Olympic winner, the servers refused to serve him and even said to him that "here we serve white people only". This refusal infuriated Clay, who started fighting with members of a motorcycle gang, who were present at the incident and jeered him. His anger was such, that he got out of the restaurant, headed to the Ohio riverside and threw his medal in the river crying.
|
