On April 28, 1967, boxing champion Muhammad Ali refused to respond to the military draft. For Ali, the decision not to fight was a religious one. He had converted to Islam in 1964, and he said, “I ain’t got no quarrel with those Vietcong.” On June 20, 1967, Ali was convicted of draft evasion, sentenced to five years in prison (did not serve), fined $10,000, and banned from boxing for three years. He returned to boxing in 1970.
