Muhammad Ali, three-time heavyweight champion and icon, died on Friday. Among his lesser-known achievements is that he once talked a suicidal man out of jumping from a ledge.
The man was threatening to jump from a 9th floor window ledge in Los Angeles in 1981. Ali was in the area and volunteered to help him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SV75aFzC1aQ
Ali approached the man and said “I’m your brother, I want to help you.”
The man recognized Ali, who eventually persuaded him to back down.
The man was later admitted into a psychiatric hospital for veterans, and Ali promised to visit him a week later.
Ali had been afflicted with Parkinson’s Disease for 30 years, and he was taken to a hospital in Arizona earlier this week.
His funeral will be held in his hometown of Louisville, Ky.
