Thrilla in Manila: Who's the real uncle tom/house negro in this story?

Muhammad Ali is a boxing icon and an international hero.  His stance against the Vietnam war and subsequent suspension due to his refusal to be drafted into the army, gave him a larger than life persona.

With that said, there is a video of him that has bothered me since I was a kid.  It comes from the press conference before his third fight with Joe Frazier.   In the video, Ali pulls out a Gorilla doll which was meant to be Frazier and begins to punch it.  While he's punching it, he gives this line,"It's gonna be a chilla, and a killa, and a thriller, when I get the Gorilla in Manilla."  All my years watching that video, I have never laughed.  

I didn't laugh because I couldn't understand how one Black man could call another Black man a Gorilla. When you also consider the time period this fight took place in (1975), it's still unbelievable Ali would go that far.  The excuse that he was trying to promote the fight does not fly.  He had other options than to call Frazier a Gorilla and mock him in the manner that he did. To go along with calling Frazier a Gorilla, he also said Joe was not intelligent and made fun of his nose.  He used the very stereotypes that Whites have said about Blacks against one of his own kind.

My disappointment in Ali has only gotten worse since watching the HBO documentary, "Thrilla in Manila."  For one of the few times, the story is told from Mr. Frazier's perspective.  After watching that documentary, I see why Joe still harbors anger all these years later.

What I didn't know is that Frazier was supportive of Ali during his suspension from boxing.  He tried to get Ali's boxing license reinstated, defended him and even borrowed him money.  His repayment for these acts of kindness were to be called an "Uncle Tom" and a "Gorilla."

It's ironic that Ali was such an important figure for the Black Power movement, yet displayed such racial hatred for a member of his own race.  Being that Ali was lighter skinned than Frazier, it makes you wonder did he really believe that he was superior to Joe.  If that was the case, than I have to ask who was the real uncle tom/house negro?

I know some of you will defend Ali, calling it just his sense of humor.  Or, Joe would not be that upset had he won the final fight.  Neither of those points is the real issue.

The real issue is the superficial nature of our people sometimes.  The ability to have this double standard where if a White man had said what Ali did, there would have been mass protest.   Yet, Ali says it and it's "funny."  Funny?  It damn sure wasn't funny to Frazier and his family, besides Ali knew better, but he did it anyway.

After the fight, Ali requested that Joe Frazier's son, Marvis come to his locker room.  At that point, he apologized about his behavior and asked Marvis to tell his father that.  Joe's response was correct,"he should have told that to me."  Ali owned him that much.  Ali has never apologized for his Gorilla statement.  He made a general apology in 2001, but it was not specific enough for Frazier and I understand that.  Although, it would probably do him some good to forgive Ali and move on.  I think history will show it was not he who was in the wrong, it was Ali.

What do you think of Ali's behavior leading up to the fight?  Does his behavior put a stain on his legacy?  Let me know.