School of History and Sociology Assistant Professor John M. Smith, Ph.D., co-authored “How the Olympics Shaped Muhammad Ali” for The Wall Street Journal. The article follows Ali’s bold beginnings as Cassius Clay, through his transition period and outspoken years of activism, all the way to his run as the final torch bearer in the opening ceremony of the 1996 Olympics. Read more about Ali’s past, as well as the intimate moments leading up to the lighting of the 1996 Olympic cauldron, in the full article.