World champion boxer Muhammad Ali refused induction into the army in 1964, citing religious beliefs, and was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. His case eventually reached the Supreme Court, where Justice John Harlan prepared the majority opinion. However, Harlan's clerk, Kevin Connolly, initially drafted a reversal of the conviction, and Harlan agreed with the dissenting opinion, forcing the justice to persuade his colleagues to change their stance.
Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight
The film dramatizes Muhammad Ali's tumultuous relationship with the US government, highlighting the nation's complex stance on the Vietnam War and the severe consequences he faced for refusing to participate.