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The Greatest: Remembering Muhammad Ali. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired June 10, 2016 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:03] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether you came from Morehouse or whether you had no house. Whether you were high yellow or boot black. Muhammad Ali loved you. Our city is known for two things. It's known for Muhammad Ali, it is known for the Kentucky Derby.

We hope you will come back and visit our city, the first Saturday in May. We hope you will place a bet on one of the horses. But if you do, please know the rules. What will happen is the horses will start off in the starting gate and then, the signal will be given.

They'll run in the mud for two minutes and the winner will then be led to the winner's circle where a wreath of roses will be placed around the horse's neck. We want you to make a bet. But please know the rules. You cannot bet for the horse once it's in the winner's circle.

You have to bet for the horse while it's still in the mud. And there are a lot of people -- there are a lot of people who will bet and have bet on Muhammad Ali when he was in the winner's circle. But the masses bet on him while he was still in the mud.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar stood with him when he was in the mud. Jim Brown stood with him when he was in the mud. Bill Russell stood with him when he was in the mud. Howard Cosell stood with him when he was in the mud.

Please don't mishear me. I am not saying that Muhammad Ali is the property of black people. He is the property of all people. But while he is the property of all people, let us never forget that he is the product of black people in their struggle to be free.

I went looking for Jesus on a poor west end street thinking that I would find him as he walked around with men and women people who have their heads bowed low because they were broke and had nowhere to go.

But then I went looking for Jesus way in the sky thinking he would wear a robe that would dazzle my eye. When suddenly Jesus came walking by which stumbling feet because he'd been hanging with the poor on a west end street.

The Muhammad Ali of my childhood had a shuffle. But as he grew older, he walked with shuffling feet. And I would submit to you that he walked with shuffling feet, not because of Parkinson's disease.

But he walked with shuffling feet because he hung out with the folk in West Louisville who had shuffling feet. Peace and god bless you. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, yes, yes. Yes, yes, yes. Don't give a teenager a telephone and don't give a preacher a microphone. We like to -- we like to bring Senator Orrin Hatch to the stage now in his seventh term as Utah senator, one of Utah's senators.

He's the most senior Republican in the Senate, author of some of the most far-reaching legislation in recent decades. Senator Hatch is a seasoned and distinguished public servant. We're deeply honored by his presence today.

[15:35:07]SENATOR ORIN HATCH (R), UTAH: Wow, Reverend. That was real good. It's hard for this poor old senator have to follow that is all I can say. Well, the head of the first fight with Sonny Liston Muhammad Ali stood before a crowded pack of reporters and told the world unapologetically who he was.

I'm the greatest. That's what he said. With this simple proclamation, all took the pen of history and wrote his own -- Ali took the pen of history and wrote his own title in the textbooks. He was not Muhammad Ali the prize fighter or even Muhammad Ali the world champion.

He was Muhammad Ali the greatest. His daughters dismissed this declaration as mere braggadocio, but Ali wasn't talking trash. He was speaking truth and he was in the world of boxing, he truly was the greatest.

With the cutthroat quickness of a street fighter, and the simple grace of a ballerina, Ali moves with Achilles' like agility and punched with herculean strength.

But to assume that Ali's greatness stands solely from his athletic prowess is to see only half the man. Ali was great. Not only as an extraordinary fighter.

He was a committed civil rights leader, an international diplomat, a forceful advocate of religious freedom and an effective emissary of Islam. He was something. He was caring as a father, a husband, a brother and a friend.

Indeed, it is as a personal friend that I witnessed Ali's greatness for myself. I first met Muhammad Ali 28 years ago, almost to the day, to this day. I was in my Senate office, assistant called in and said you have a visitor outside.

And I was really surprised that it was none other than the champion himself. Friendship we developed I think was puzzling to many people, especially to those who saw only differences. I might say that -- but where others saw difference we saw kinship.

We were both dedicated to our families and deeply devoted to our faiths. He took Islam and I to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. We were both products of humble backgrounds and hard scrabble youth.

Ali grew up poor here in Louisville and I grew up poor in Pittsburgh. True, we were different in some ways but our differences fortified our friendship. They did not define it.

I saw greatness in Ali's ability to look beyond the horizon and our differences to find common ground. This shared sensibility was the foundation of a rich and meaningful relationship that I will forever treasure.

One of my fondest memories of our friendship was in Ali joined me in the Salt Lake, to go and listen to the Salt Lake Mormon Tabernacle choir. I have to say, it was the famed Mormon Tabernacle choir.

Ali loved music. He enjoyed the choir's performance. But he seemed most excited to share his own religious beliefs with those who came to hear the Christian hymns. Ali attracted big crowds that day and as he always did and eagerly gave everyone autographs pamphlets explaining his Muslim beliefs.

Hundreds of Mormons lined up to grab all these pamphlets. Of course, I took one for myself. I respected his deeply held convictions just as he respected mine.

In our relationship, it was anchored by our different faiths. Ali was open to goodness in all of its diverse realities and varieties.

[15:40:03]On another occasion, I took Ali to Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City. We visited with downtrodden children who perhaps had never smiled a day in their lifetime until Ali showed up.

Ali held those kids and looked into their eyes. They would grin from ear to ear. These are kids that never smiled. They were so pained. The nurses were astounded. Never before had they seen someone who had connected so immediately and profoundly with these sick children.

Ali had a special way with kids as we all know. He may have been a tough and tenacious man in the ring, but he was a compassionate and tender around those that he loved. For all of this for us that he is a fighter.

Ali was also a peacemaker. A particular radio host in Utah berated me constantly on the air waves, week after week. One day, the host asked, if I would arrange for Ali to meet Utah's former middleweight champion, Jane Fulmer for a joint interview.

Ali agreed knowing the appearance could help me build some goodwill, but he also was very interested in meeting Gene (ph) as well. It was an unforgettable experience. Here were two champions face to face reminiscing about some of the best fights the world has ever seen.

And I have to say and in the process Ali claimed that radio host -- well, he charmed the radio host so much on my behalf, gently transforming an unrepentant antagonist into a respectful sparring partner.

So dedicated was Ali to our friendship that he joined me on the campaign trail during several election cycles. He came to Utah year after year to raise funds for a charity benefiting needy women, women in jeopardy, and families in our state. Ali didn't look at life through the binary lens of Republican, Democrat, so common today. He saw worthy causes and shared humanity. In Ali's willingness to put principles ahead of partisanship, he showed us all the path to greatness and I'll never forget that greatness. Nor will I ever forget him.

There were many faces to Ali's greatness. His ability as a boxer. His charisma as a public figure. His benevolence as a father and as a friend. All of these made Ali great. But there was something else that made him the greatest.

Ali was the greatest because as a debilitated yet unbroken champion in his later years, he pointed us to a greatness beyond ourselves, a greatness beyond even Ali. He pointed us to the greatness of God.

God raised up Ali to be the greatest fighter in the world of all time. Yet he allowed Ali to wrestle with Parkinson's disease and inescapable reminder that we are all mortal and we are all dependent on God's grace.

Ali believed this himself. He once told me, God gave me this condition to remind me always that I am human and that only he is the greatest. Ali was an unsurpassed symbol of our universal dependence on the divine.

He was the greatest because he reminded us all who truly is the greatest, God our Creator. I'm eternally grateful for my special bond with this special man and for my friendship with his beloved wife, Lonnie, who I loved dearly.

She is one of the great women in this world. She was dedicated to her companion to the very end and, boy, I know it. I pray that Ali may rest peacefully and that Ali will rest peacefully in the presence of the greatest of all, even in our God.

[15:45:12]I can bare testimony that I believe in God. I believe that we're here on earth for a reason. I believe that this earth life is a time for us to do what's right for God and for our fellow men and women.

I don't know that I have ever met anybody who did it any better than my friend, Muhammad Ali. God bless you. God bless the family. God bless you.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: That was Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of the Mormon faith, and this is interfaith service and a very diverse service here, which is representative of Muhammad Ali's life. A quick break. We're back with live coverage right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Back now to our live coverage of a memorial service of Muhammad Ali, a very moving and inspiring memorial service. We've been looking at pictures from his family, his beautiful wife, Lonnie, in the crowd, and also dignitaries from a former president to Will Smith and on and on. Mike Tyson and on and on. We will listen in now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- he's been instrumental in assuring that the last days of Muhammad's life, his burial, his bathing, his shrouding, and his burial today, his funeral and burial today, all were in accordance with the scriptures of Muslim law. So now I'd like to bring to you the person I affectionately call brother, doctor, Imam Timothy Gionadi (ph).

[15:50:05]TIMOTHY GIONADI: (Speaking in foreign language). In the name of God who is the loving nurturer of the creation and ever merciful. I'd like to share a prayer today. And this is a prayer adapted from a traditional prayer of the Prophet Mohammed, may God's blessing be upon him.

Before I do so, I would like to say to the family, to Lonnie, to everyone here that serving Muhammad Ali has been one of the greatest privileges of my life.

God, you who are the light of the heavens, grant our brother, Muhammad, a light in his heart. A light in his earthly body now restored to the earth, a light in his grave. A light before him as he journeys on to you, a light in behind in this world.

A light to his right and a light to his left. God, increase him in light. Grant him light. A light in his deeds in this world and a light in the hereafter. A light in the hearts of those whom he loved and a light in the eyes of those who loved him.

A light in those whom he knocked down and then a light in those whom he lifted up. A light in his words which echoed in our hearts. A light in the lives of all those whom he touched.

A light in his children and the light in their mothers. A light in his grandchildren and a light in his devoted wife, Lonnie. Lord, increase your servant in light and give him light. Embrace him in light. And fill us all with light.

(Speaking in foreign language). You are the light of the heavens and the earth. You are the most merciful of those who show mercy. (Speaking in foreign language)

LEMON: We will continue on with the memorial service for Muhammad Ali after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:56:30]

LEMON: Rabbi Michael Lerner (ph) speaking now in Louisville, Kentucky.

RABBI MICHAEL LERNER: -- everyone is equally precious and that means the Palestinian people as well as all other people on the planet. I know the people of Louisville have a special relationship to Muhammad Ali and I had a personal relationship in the '60s when both of us were indicted by the federal government for our various stands against the war in Vietnam.

I want to say that although he was cheered on as the heavyweight champion of the world, you know, the truth is that in all of the honor to him, the heavyweight champions of the world come and go and sports heroes come and go. There was something about Muhammad Ali that was different.

At the key moment when he had that recognition, he used it to stand up to an immoral war and say, no, I won't go! And it's for that reason that tens and millions of Americans who don't particularly care about boxing care about Muhammad Ali.

Because he was a person who was willing to risk a great honor that he got and a great fame that he got to stand up for the beliefs that he had, to speak truth to power when the rest of the people around him said, no, no, you're going to lose your championship and it was taken away from him for five years.

But he stood up and was willing to take that kind of a risk because of that kind of moral integrity. So I want to say, how do we honor Muhammad Ali? And the answer is the way to honor Muhammad Ali is to be Muhammad Ali today.

That means us, everyone here and everyone listening, it's up to us to continue that ability to speak truth to power. We must speak out, refuse to follow the path of conformity to the rules of the game in life.

We must refuse to follow the path of conformity. Tell the 1 percent who own 80 percent of the wealth of this country that it's time to share that wealth.

Tell the politicians who use violence worldwide and then preach nonviolence to the oppressed, that it's time to end their drone warfare and every other form of warfare, to close our bases around the world, bring the troops home.

Tell those who created mass incarceration that it's time to create a guaranteed income for everyone in our society. Tell judges to let out of prison the many African-Americans swept up by racist police and imprisoned by racist judges.

Many are in prison today for offenses like possessing marijuana that white people get away with all the time!