Not at all.
(I'd rep you again, but I'm out of quarters 
) I expect that Ali would have appreciated both sides of the debate here. But (and no offense intended toward Animus), Ali would not have given two shits what he thought of him as a young man or as an old man. Whether right or wrong, he said himself that he was not politically correct and he had no desire to be politically correct. He was a take it or leave it type character. And that's what I liked about him. That's how my father was, and so I grew up with that sort of attitude all around me. But, as seems necessary in these hyper-sensitive times in which we currently live, youngish folk nowadays feel a duty to pass judgment on those who may have said something which does not pass their PC litmus test. Yep, Ali was brash, arrogant, "played the dozens" better than anyone who I have ever seen or heard
(how many youngsters these days even know what that means? 
) and certainly did say some pointed, offensive and reactionary things... primarily based on how he was treated throughout his youth, growing up in the segregated south. Government sponsored and mandated racism, I would say, is a
tad bit different than just having some guys make fun of you between classes, or whatever the case may be. Some people turn the other cheek. And other people, well, they will smack you in the mouth...
twice - just so that you don't forget what the deal is. I'm not rationalizing or defending anything that Ali said or did. But unlike people these days,
he owned it! None of this sickening, pussy-foot BS that we see from people these days.
As Ali grew and matured as a person, he stood with great leaders and heads of state throughout the world, from Pope John Paul to Billy Graham to Nelson Mandela, among many others. He learned to accept, or at least tolerate, those with whom he did not agree. His words and charitable actions motivated downtrodden people to raise themselves, and even encouraged an oppressive government to release political prisoners. How could a "shitty human being" sports star do that? Why would respected world leaders meet with a "shitty human being" sports star... if that's ALL that he was??? He didn't become the most famous person in the world just because he could dance and juke before he knocked someone senseless. Some people understand that. And clearly, some people do not. But that's OK. Not everyone's going to get it and people are free to believe whatever they choose to believe.
As you mentioned earlier, Ali was not without flaws or sin. And he never said that he was. But in and out of the ring, he learned to play to his strengths and minimized his weaknesses and frailties - something that many of us do as we grow older and mature.
And in my opinion, he did a pretty damn good job of it.
