Sports are no stranger to racism, and indeed, Islamophobia. It rears its ugly head from the stands in stadiums and sinks itself in news printed about Muslim athletes striving to be the best in their sport while remaining true to their beliefs. … The world of football is marred by white supremacy, as leagues throughout Europe vividly illustrate. No matter how virulent and violent the color of combat is on the most celebrated pitches in England, Spain, and Italy, it is no match for the realm of boxing—as the trials of Jack Johnson, Sugar Ray Robinson, and Muhammad Ali demonstrate—and the broader world of combat sports. The "unforgivable Blackness" that Jack Johnson reckoned with, when he became the first Black world heavyweight boxing champion in 1908, enabled the unapologetic Black Muslimness of Muhammad Ali decades later.

Khaled A. Beydoun, The New Crusades_ Islamopho…, loc. 1079