What should have been a free memorial celebration for the life and legacy of Muhammad Ali is being turned into a profit venture by unscrupulous individuals. The funeral and memorial service for Ali is scheduled to take place at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, and 15K free tickets were distributed to the public. People began lining up hours in advance of the scheduled release of the free tickets and they were quickly snapped up within an hour by fans of the boxing legend. Now comes word that the free tickets are being sold online for up to $100 a piece.
Ads for the sale of the free tickets began popping up on the website Craigslist soon after it was announced that the event had no more seats available to the public. Scalpers were asking as much as $100 for a ticket to the free event and family members as well as the public are outraged and calling the sales disrespectful to the memory of the “Greatest of All Time.”
Ali family spokesman Bob Gunnell stated, “I’m personally disgusted and amazed that someone would try to profit off of Muhammad Ali’s memorial service. I hope that those buying tickets or trying to buy tickets would stop those efforts by not purchasing. Muhammad Ali wanted this to be a free event, an event that was open to all. Obviously it’s very disappointing that someone would try to turn a buck and make a dollar off of this solemn service to our great city hero and champion, Muhammad Ali. I haven’t discussed this with the family because they have enough to worry about right now, but I’m sure they would be extremely disappointed.”
The events surrounding services for Ali will start today at 2 p.m. and will include an Islamic prayer service for the champ. On Friday, a processional through the streets of Louisville, Ali’s hometown, will be held as his body makes its way to the venue. For fans and mourners of the champ, a giant TV screen will be made available outside the arena for those who were unable to get a ticket.
