Muhammad Ali's ex-wife rips potential Trump pardon - 'A little too late'
When President Donald Trump first floated the idea of pardoning boxing legend Muhammad Ali, it was met with a very mixed reaction.
There were some who felt that Ali’s refusal to serve in the military was the ultimate act of betrayal. There were others who felt that the pardon was long overdue.
Muhammad Ali’s ex-wife, Khalilah Ali? She apparently falls in neither camp.
Speaking to TMZ Sports, Khalilah Ali tore into Trump’s idea for a pardon and claimed that he should focus his efforts on the living.
Khalilah, who was married to Muhammad from 1967 to 1976, seemed utterly nonplussed by Trump’s gesture.
“Muhammad Ali was (already) pardoned,” Khalilah Ali said when asked about Trump’s comments. “He fought for his freedom and his rights, to stand up for his beliefs, and he was successful.”
The legendary boxer’s conviction was overturned by the Supreme Court in 1971.
“There’s no necessary need for a pardon. Plus, he’s gone. I mean, you want to give somebody a pardon who’s alive (to be) set free,” Khalilah Ali said.
She speculated that Trump’s comments stemmed from him being a fan of her ex-husband.
“I think (Trump) probably was a fan of Ali and he thought he would say something positive about him. That might be it. But it’s a little too late for that,” Khalilah Ali said with a chuckle.
“(Trump) probably did it with good intentions, but he’s on the late show,” she added.
Instead of pardoning Muhammad Ali, Khalilah offered a somewhat confusing alternative.
“I think the pardon should go to those who kneel,” she said, seemingly referring to NFL players who knelt during the national anthem. “That would be putting (the pardon) in the right perspective, in the right place. Because if he accepts Muhammad Ali being right for what he did, and want to give him a pardon, then that pardon should be going out to all those people who kneel.”
Of note, there would be nothing for anthem protesters to be pardoned for, seeing as how nobody has convicted them of anything. The TMZ interviewer had to clarify that Khalilah Ali felt Trump should pardon anthem protesters in the court of public opinion.
“If you’re willing to say its OK for Muhammad Ali to be pardoned for his freedom and standing up his rights and standing up for not going to the army, then you’re telling me that you’re ready to pardon everybody that has done that in the same manner as Muhammad Ali has,” Khalilah Ali said.
Trump originally entertained the idea of pardoning Muhammad Ali after he indicated he wanted to field pardon recommendations from NFL players.
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