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Jim Brown on the lesson of Muhammad Ali: 'Money is not god'

"Money is not god," Jim Brown told NBC's Chuck Todd of Ali's greatest lesson.
In this Aug. 5, 1966 photo, heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali, right, visits Cleveland Browns running back and actor Jim Brown on the film set of \"The Dirty Dozen\" at Morkyate, Bedfordshire, England.
In this Aug. 5, 1966 photo, heavyweight boxer Muhammad Ali, right, visits Cleveland Browns running back and actor Jim Brown on the film set of \"The Dirty Dozen\" at Morkyate, Bedfordshire, England. 

NFL legend Jim Brown was on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday morning to talk about the passing of his friend Muhammad Ali.

Near the end of the interview, host Chuck Todd asked Brown, "What should today's athletes, what lesson should today's athletes take from you and Muhammad Ali and the things you did for them in the '60s?"

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"Money is not God, and human dignity is very important," Brown responded. "Your integrity is way up there. And as a single human being, if you carry yourself in a certain way you can defy all evil that comes at us."

Brown concluded by noting that Ali's biggest opponents were prejudice and bigotry: "I'd like to make one thing very clear, Muhammad Ali loved people, and he had white friends as well as black friends — and the only thing that he hated was discrimination and racism. And so, that's the way that I look at him and that's how I'd close out my talking to you today."