December 7, 2015

Donald Trump, Here Are a Few Muslim American Sports Stars You May Have Heard Of

<a href=http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/AP-S-AZ-USA-Muhammad-Ali-Fight-Night/77b29c22cc634f9fa938cf4989858841/3/0>Jeff Chiu</a>/AP

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After President Barack Obama’s address to the nation on Sunday night, GOP front-runner Donald Trump criticized Obama for calling Muslim Americans “our sports heroes.“

Given his history, Trump should have known better. Muhammad Ali, Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Bernard Hopkins are a few athletes who should come to mind when discussing Muslim American sports heroes. On several occasions in the past, Trump pointed to his friendship with boxing legend Ali.

#TBT With my friend Muhammad Ali

Posted by Donald J. Trump on Thursday, May 7, 2015

He even received an award from Ali in 2007.

Trump is also chums with boxer Mike Tyson, another Muslim American athlete. In fact, the two were so friendly that Trump even tried to help Tyson avoid prison after the boxer was convicted of rape.

During his time in prison, which ended in March of 1995, Tyson converted to Islam. Trump’s friendship with the boxer predated his conversion. But even later, when Tyson was defeated by Evander Holyfield in 1996, Trump claimed that he and Tyson were friends.

DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

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DONALD TRUMP & DEMOCRACY

Mother Jones was founded to do things differently in the aftermath of a political crisis: Watergate. We stand for justice and democracy. We reject false equivalence. We go after, and go deep on, stories others don’t. And we’re a nonprofit newsroom because we knew corporations and billionaires would never fund the journalism we do. Our reporting makes a difference in policies and people’s lives changed.

And we need your support like never before to vigorously fight back against the existential threats American democracy and journalism face. We’re running behind our online fundraising targets and urgently need all hands on deck right now. We can’t afford to come up short—we have no cushion; we leave it all on the field.

Please help with a donation today if you can—even just a few bucks helps. Not ready to donate but interested in our work? Sign up for our Daily newsletter to stay well-informed—and see what makes our people-powered, not profit-driven, journalism special.

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