--- title: Trump Might Pardon Muhammad Ali. What Did Ali Do? description: President Trump is considering pardoning Muhammad Ali, the legendary boxer who died in 2016 at the age of 74. Here's what Ali did. canonical: https://time.com/5305927/trump-muhammad-ali-pardon/ author: Alex Fitzpatrick article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-08T14:20:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:04:01.460Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Says He Might Pardon Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali. What Did Ali Do? og:description: The legendary athlete famously refused to serve in Vietnam og:url: https://time.com/5305927/trump-muhammad-ali-pardon/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8203c302cd3dfe50/6989329cbc6cfc681f3e62be/muhammad-ali-pardon.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3637 og:image:height: 2046 og:image:alt: Muhammad Ali Taunting Sonny Liston og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Says He Might Pardon Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali. What Did Ali Do? twitter:description: The legendary athlete famously refused to serve in Vietnam twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8203c302cd3dfe50/6989329cbc6cfc681f3e62be/muhammad-ali-pardon.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Trump Says He Might Pardon Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali. What Did Ali Do? > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Muhammad Ali 1942 - 2016 [Watch (HLS stream): Muhammad Ali 1942 - 2016](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/bqrQRcbQ.m3u8) (2:05)  _Published 2016-06-04. Muhammad Ali, the heavyweight boxing legend who fought opponents in the ring and on behalf of social justice outside of it, has died at 74 years old._  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Jun 8, 2018 2:20 PM UTC  Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali stands over Sonny Liston and taunts him to get up during their title fight. Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali stands over Sonny Liston and taunts him to get up during their title fight. Bettmann—Bettmann Archive  by [Alex Fitzpatrick](https://time.com/author/alex-fitzpatrick/)  ## Alex Fitzpatrick Jun 8, 2018 2:20 PM UTC President Donald Trump is [considering pardoning Muhammad Ali](http://time.com/5305911/president-trump-pardon-muhammad-ali/), the legendary boxer who died in 2016 at the age of 74. Ali, born Cassius Clay, is best known today as one of the greatest athletes to ever step foot inside a boxing ring. But he was also an outspoken activist whose conscientious objection to serving in the Vietnam War would see him lose the heavyweight title and be effectively barred from his sport for over three years. “I can’t take part in nothing,” Ali later said of his decision, “where I’d help the shooting of dark Asiatic people, who haven’t lynched me, deprived me of my freedom, justice and equality, or assassinated my leaders.” In 1967, Ali was convicted of draft evasion, sentenced to five years in prison and fined $10,000\. However, he remained free while he appealed his case. The Supreme Court in 1971 [unanimously overturned Ali’s conviction,](https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/403/698) which leaves unclear whether a pardon is necessary or even possible. “There is no conviction from which a pardon is needed,” the late Ali’s attorney said in a statement Friday. > [](https://twitter.com/TreWardWLKY/status/1005082162243293185) Trump pardoning Ali would be a break from his posture toward modern-day athletes who make their political opinions known on and off the field. The President has been [particularly critical](http://time.com/5301221/donald-trump-cancels-eagles-visit-anthem/) of National Football League players who have knelt during the national anthem to protest racism and police violence. (Trump also recently [pardoned late boxer Jack Johnson](http://time.com/5290487/trump-pardon-jack-johnson/), who was convicted on what many saw as racist grounds.) Trump himself never served in Vietnam, having received [several deferments](https://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/02/us/politics/donald-trump-draft-record.html) for education and medical reasons. Here’s more on the history of Ali’s conscientious objection, from [TIME’s obituary written by Sean Gregory](http://time.com/3646214/muhammad-ali-dead-obituary/): --- > “” --- ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5305927/trump-muhammad-ali-pardon/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5305927/trump-muhammad-ali-pardon/"},"headline":"Trump Says He Might Pardon Boxing Legend Muhammad Ali. 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