In the early 1960s it was impossible to believe that any sporting hero could be a homosexual. This abridged extract of Donald McRae’s new book A Man’s World: The Double Life of Emile Griffith tells of a fight with terrible consequences
Griffith just did his job as a pro fighter. The ref did a horrible job by watching an unconscious boxer take punch after punch. No one was more sorry than Griffith over Paret's death. The ending would most likely have been the same even if Paret had never insulted him. Griffith was supposed to knock his opponent out if he got the chance and he was supposed to keep punching until the ref stopped the fight.
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