The most famous person on the planet.

40 years ago it was, without question, Muhammad Ali – the most gifted and charismatic sportsman the world has ever known. He was my boyhood hero, a phenomenal human being whose death has saddened the whole world. However, among the richly deserved hagiographies, it’s worth considering words from The Guardian this morning. “Ali was no more a social force than Frank Sinatra. The politically fashionable clung to his racist invective as if it were the wisdom of a seer. Today he’d be looked upon as a contaminant, a chronic user of hate language”. The truth is, Ali was used mercilessly by some horrible people to further their own agenda. They bled him dry, forcing him to fight long after he should have quit. If he hadn’t become involved with them, wouldn’t he have avoided the punches that led to brain damage and Parkinson’s? And wouldn’t be still be alive today?