Cleveland Browns legend Jim Brown joined NFL Network's Aditi Kinkhabwala spontaneously during Wednesday's Inside Minicamp Live. Brown opened up about the passing of sports icon and dear friend Muhammad Ali.
"There's so many things we shared. I don't want to capitalize on saying I knew (Ali) so well, but I did," Brown said. "He was a funny guy and a great man. A man who stood up for what was right. A man who stood up for all human beings, a man who used to loved people, a man who used to work with me in the ghettos."
Kinkhabwala asked Brown if an athlete today could make as big of an impact as Ali did.
"No," Brown responded. "Too much money today ... but the spirit was different then because racism was running rampant. Discrimination was running rampant and you had to fight to be a first-class citizen and to have an equal playing field. And all of us who were pioneers hated racism and discrimination and Muhammad Ali had the platform nobody had because he was heavyweight champion. And he used it beautifully. He got a lot of criticism, but now the people to understand that he's for all Americans and he just wanted to make this a better country."
Brown believes Ali's legacy will continue to live on long after his passing.
"He's probably the most recognizable figure in the world today," he said. "These young men are smart enough to understand that they've benefited tremendously from the sacrifices he made."
