(CNN) — To Laila Ali, being an athlete means living like a role model, whether one wants to or not.
And, as the boxer and former athlete told CNN at the Tuesday premiere of the Jackie Robinson biopic “42,” she doesn’t have much sympathy for athletes who think otherwise.
Ali said that she hopes the film, which shows Robinson breaking Major League baseball’s color barrier, will remind moviegoers of that.
“As an athlete, it’s really good for young children to see somebody who really should be put on a pedestal, other than some of these other athletes that are just good on the court, but they’re not good off the court,” Ali, 35, said. “So hopefully it’ll be a reminder. That’s something that really, I think about a lot, just being Muhammad Ali’s daughter.”
Ali didn’t name names, but she did say that she thinks such stars could get a lesson out of “42” as well.
“They need to be reminded, because they have it easy, and they’re complaining,” she said. “You don’t have to worry about your life getting threatened, like my father did, and like Jackie Robinson did, just to play the game. And then on top of that, you’re making millions of dollars. So, whether you want to be a role model or not, too bad. You have to, that’s the price that you have to pay.”
It’s not that she thinks parents “should look to athletes to raise their kids,” but on the other hand, “I think that we definitely need to take care when we are in the public eye.”
These days, Ali is getting ready to be more exposed to the public, as she’s preparing for a photo shoot with People magazine next week.
“I’m doing my first bathing suit, swimsuit, bikini shoot,” she said. “I’m not as ready as I wanted to be, but I’ll be good enough.”
CNN’s KJ Matthews contributed to this report.
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