The event, the inaugural Greatest Sports Legends Dinner to support the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.
asserted
event → support → Paralysis
Less than a year earlier on Oct. 26, 1985, a football player for The Citadel with a familiar last name, Marc Buoniconti, was paralyzed while trying to make a tackle in a game against East Tennessee State.
asserted
player → paralyze → State
Buoniconti suffered a dislocation of the C3 and C4 vertebrae, and a severe spinal cord injury which would leave him paralyzed from the shoulders down.
asserted
which → suffer → shoulders
He would have vertebrae fusion surgery to stabilize his neck and begin his lifelong rehabilitation, which included learning to breath without a ventilator and master a breath-controlled wheelchair.
asserted
which → have → wheelchair
Marc’s famous father, Nick Buoniconti — the Hall-of-Fame linebacker for the Boston Patriots and Miami Dolphins, and iconic co-host of HBO’s “Inside the NFL” — quickly sprung into action.
asserted
father → spring → action
By the end of 1985 he cofounded the Miami Project with neurosurgeon and spinal cord injury expert Dr. Barth A. Green.
asserted
he → cofounde → Green
The Greatest Sports Legends Dinner became the organization’s biggest platform for raising awareness and money for research into the mysteries of spinal cord injury.
asserted
Dinner → become → injury
It was no coincidence that the first gathering honored “The Greatest” — Muhammad Ali.
asserted
gathering → honor → Greatest
“I had the privilege of knowing [Muhammad] for quite some time,” Marc Buoniconti told The Post. “ We’d been friendly even before the dinner.
asserted
We → have → dinner
My dad was friends with [Ali’s trainer] Angelo Dundee, so we made that connection early on.
asserted
we → make → connection
It was a natural fit for him to be one of the first people that we honored.”
asserted
we → honor → that
Photos from the evening show Ali talking with Marc and Nick Buoniconti, President Nixon, Joe Namath and Bob Cousy.
asserted
Ali → show → Buoniconti
“What an amazing guy, so personable, so friendly,” Marc recalled.
asserted
Marc → recall → ?
“He was super excited to be a part of it, and really helped to put the Buoniconti family and the Miami Project on the map as far as bringing attention to our cause.
asserted
He → help → cause
On Monday night at the Hilton in Midtown, an organization created out of the devotion of father to son will honor its first father-daughter combination.
asserted
organization → create → combination
“I’ve worked very hard to establish my own identity, create my own path, but I will always be proud to be my father’s daughter,” Laila Ali told The Post.
asserted
Ali → work → Post
“Now, to be the only father-daughter combination to receive this honor 40 years apart is something I definitely don’t take lightly.
asserted
I → receive → honor
“[Our journeys are] very different and our legacies stand on their own, but we both have that shared commitment of excellence.
asserted
we → stand → excellence
So being able to use my platform and make a difference, it feels like a beautiful place to be where those two legacies meet.”
asserted
legacies → use → place
The connection to the Miami Project and Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis is important to Laila Ali.
asserted
connection → cure → Ali
Muhammad Ali famously suffered from Parkinson’s disease.
asserted
Ali → suffer → disease
In addition to spinal injuries, the organization conducts clinical research into neurological diseases and disorders including Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, ALS, multiple sclerosis and CTE.
asserted
organization → conduct → Parkinson
Laila Ali was 24-0 with 21 knockouts and five world championships in a career that spanned from 1999-2007.
asserted
that → span → 1999
Her opponents clearly were in bigger danger than she was, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t suffer damage.
asserted
she → mean → damage
She says an examination by renowned neurologist Dr. Daniel Amen, who earlier worked with her father, revealed “concussions I didn’t even know I had.”
asserted
I → say → concussions
“There’s so much that happens in the gym, not in the fight.
asserted
that → ’ → fight
I haven’t lost a fight, I’m undefeated, but I was sparring with men for years,” Ali recounted.
asserted
Ali → lose → years
“And sparring, you’re doing ‘x’ amount of times per week, going 10 rounds with guys who may be stronger than you.
uncertain
who → do → you
And it doesn’t really matter how strong you are, just getting hit in the head isn’t a good thing.”
asserted
hit → matter → head
Now 48, Laila Ali lives in the Atlanta area with her husband, former Bears and Jets wide receiver Curtis Conway, 18-year-old son Curtis Jr. and 15-year-old daughter Sydney.
asserted
Ali → live → husband
Curtis Jr., who bears a striking resemblance to grandfather Muhammad, plays high school and travel baseball.
asserted
who → bear → school
Laila says Sydney is athletic but is not interested in competition in sports.
asserted
Sydney → say → sports
“So that has been a challenge for us because we are so competitive,” Laila said.
asserted
Laila → say → us
“But we’ve never pressured our children that they need to play sports to become athletes for a living.
asserted
they → pressure → living
It’s because it’s what you get from sports, the discipline and the character that it builds.
asserted
it → ’ → that
She did play sports up until age 14 and she got to decide.
asserted
she → play → age
She’s more of an artist.”
asserted
She → ’ → artist
Laila says she has never been a football follower and didn’t know Curtis Conway was a football player when she met him.
asserted
she → say → him
She adds the duo didn’t specifically dissuade their children from playing violent sports, though that didn’t end up happening.
asserted
that → add → sports
“I would not prevent them from doing it if that’s what they wanted to do, the same way I wanted to,” she said.
asserted
she → prevent → what
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
