In a bit of a surprising choice, throwing out the ceremonial first ball at the All-Star Game in Houston on Tuesday will be… Muhammad Ali. Say what?
Phil Mushnick, grasping at straws as always, rips the choice because these are patriotic times and Ali refused induction to the Army during Vietnam; another group wants Ali to decline because the Astros have no black players. My beef isn’t with that, but with something else, aside from the adsurdity of giving a baseball honor to a man who never played baseball:
Ali is suffering from Parkinson’s disease, and clearly hasn't been in good health for some time. To see this one-time giant of a man, one of the most entertaining and charismatic athletes in history, continually trotted out for appearances on behalf of sports leagues, corporate endorsements and political causes, is nothing short of sickening, and seeing his current (fifth) wife dragging him around is reminiscent of the worst actions of John Henry Williams, at another All-Star Game. On top of that is the general absurdity of asking a man with Parkinson’s disease to throw a ball, something he is physically incapable of doing (two members of a local Boys & Girls Club will handle the actual throwing).
Yes, Ali lighting the torch at the 1996 Olympics was a wonderful moment. But that was eight years ago, and the man has clearly deteriorated considerably since. Isn’t it time corporations and sports leagues stopped treating the Greatest of All Time like a prop?
UPDATE:
Jeremy says: “Why don't they use his pitch to dictate who gets home field in the World Series?”