June 28, 1971 The United States Supreme Court in the case of Clay v. United States ruled unanimously to overturn the conviction of Muhammad Ali for refusing to report for induction into the United States military. The court found that the government had failed to properly specify why Ali’s application for conscientious objector classification had been denied. Ali had previously refused to serve in the U.S. military because he considered himself a conscientious objector. He appealed the draft board’s denial of his conscientious objector classification and case went to the Supreme Court. In the meantime, Ali was stripped of his World Heavyweight Boxing title and not allowed to box from 1967 to 1970.
