The outpouring of emotion after the death of Muhammad Ali this weekend has shown not just what a fantastic fighter he was, but what a well-loved man he was too.
The man who showed that “impossible is nothing”, and who cemented his place as “The Greatest” through his actions both inside and outside the ring, is a great loss.
But while most celebrities are using their social media profiles to pay tribute to Muhammad Ali, and pay their respects to the great man, one famous Twitter user is, predictably, using the death of a legend to cause controversy in an attempt to raise his own profile.
Muhammad Ali said far more inflammatory/racist things about white people than Donald Trump ever has about Muslims. #fact
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 5, 2016
Piers Morgan took the time on Sunday morning to accuse Ali of saying “racist” things about white people, and compared him to Donald Trump.
This comparison could have been in reference a tweet by Donald Trump which tremendously backfired on the Republican presedential hopeful.
Muhammad Ali is dead at 74! A truly great champion and a wonderful guy. He will be missed by all!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 4, 2016
As many people pointed out, this tweet was incredibly ironic given that Trump tweeted this back in December:
Obama said in his speech that Muslims are our sports heroes. What sport is he talking about, and who? Is Obama profiling?
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 7, 2015
Muhammad Ali had been actively observing the teachings of Islam throughout the 1960s, and became a Sunni Muslim in 1975, making him one of America’s sporting heroes Obama was referring to.
Ali is well known for speaking out against racism during his career, and given that he lived in a time where black people were still being lynched for the colour of their skin, and where, even as a world champion, some cafés and restaurants in New York would still refuse to serve him because he was black, he was well entitled to use his profile to call out oppressive actions and behaviours of white people in the US.
To compare him to Trump, who has waged a campaign of fear and hatred against Muslims (among other groups) in order to gain support among white voters in America, is far, far wide of the mark.
Thankfully, while Piers Morgan sits in his own little corner of the internet, trying to cause controversy for retweets, stars of his dearly beloved Arsenal were paying their tributes to the great man.
The Greatest. A true inspiration, who changed the world in so many ways. "Impossible is nothing" #RIPMuhammadAli pic.twitter.com/Fa4N7k2gC8
— Aaron Ramsey (@aaronramsey) June 4, 2016
"Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion." Thx for the inspiration, you greatest of all the time. R.I.P. 🙏 #ali pic.twitter.com/RV9aw6lcgj
— Mesut Özil (@M10) June 4, 2016
Morgan later tweeted this:
I hope people don't make me sound too perfect when I die.
No coats of sugar please.— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) June 5, 2016
Think people might be more than willing to oblige on that one, Piers.
Don't think you need to worry about that. You're an asswaffle.
— M.C. O'Connor (@MC_OConnor) June 5, 2016
If you want to know Ali’s thoughts on racism, watch this fantastic footage:
"Mother, how come is everything white? Why is Jesus white? #RIPMuhammadAli https://t.co/7O7bgpyd0M
— ©huy ®ueda (@chuyRM_93) June 4, 2016
