PHOENIX — Sen. John McCain, who for years has pushed for a posthumous pardon for legendary boxing great Jack Johnson, cheered President Donald Trump’s decision Thursday to finally absolve the late boxer.
Trump’s pardon, announced Thursday, came at the urging of actor Sylvester Stallone, who joined Johnson's great-great niece, three-time world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, and others in the Oval Office to announce the pardon.
"For years, Congress has overwhelmingly supported legislation calling on multiple U.S. presidents to right this historical wrong and restore this great athlete's legacy," McCain, R-Arizona, said in a written statement.
"President Trump's action today finally closes a shameful chapter in our nation’s history and marks a milestone that the American people can and should be proud of.”
Johnson, the son of former slaves, became the first black heavyweight champ in 1908.
Five years later, as racial tensions flared, he was convicted of violating the Mann Act, a federal morals law, after taking his white girlfriend across state lines. History has concluded his prosecution and speedy conviction by an all-white jury was racially motivated.
After 10 months in prison, Johnson returned home, his career and reputation in ruins.
In 2004, McCain, who boxed during his time at the U.S. Naval Academy, began introducing legislation urging a presidential pardon of Johnson.
McCain and then-Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, R-Nev., asked then-president Barack Obama to issue the pardon but their call was not heeded.
In the past, the U.S. Department of Justice has said it is generally opposed to posthumous pardons, which require historical research, because they would rather focus resources on processing the pardon requests of living people.
Trump credited Stallone with bringing Johnson's story to his attention and praised Johnson as "one of the greatest fighters" who "had a tough life."
Johnson, he said, “represented something very terrible and very beautiful at the same time."
Trump added, “I am taking this very righteous step to correct a wrong that occurred in our history…”
Linda Haywood, Johnson's great-great niece, thanked Trump, saying the pardon was "a long time coming."
She said her family was "deeply shamed" by Johnson's imprisonment and regretted her ancestors were not here to witness the pardon.
She also thanked McCain and Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., for advocating for the pardon.
"My family can go forward knowing the pain and the shame has been replaced," Haywood said.
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