LOUISVILLE, Ky. — (WHAS11) - A mural depicting well-known Kentucky figures Muhammad Ali, Abraham Lincoln, Colonel Sanders and Secretariat in the Highlands has been vandalized.
Graffiti featuring the words "racist," "antisemitic" and "homophobe" covered a portion of Ali's face on the 'Kentucky Rushmore' mural located near the Doo-Wop Shop on Bardstown Road.
"That's sad I mean the mural was beautiful and then somebody just comes and destroys that," business owner in the Highlands, Debbie Armstrong said. "We're in 2019 so why is all this necessary?"
The words were originally in orange paint, but have since been covered in white. Ali's eyes were also covered in orange paint.
The artwork is painted on the side of The Sweet Spot Candy Shoppe and Dundee Candy. The owner said he has been in touch with city leaders.
"I walk past it everyday and I pull into the garage," employee at Doo-Wop Shop, Tony McElwain said. "I saw it yesterday as I was walking to the candy store and it really bothered me."
Workers next door said their surveillance cameras do not show the alley where the mural is, but they are hopeful police will find a suspect.
"I don't know why people would do that and I don't know why they would pick that spot to do that because everybody here is like one big family," Armstrong said. "We don't care who you are, what you are, what color you are or what race you are."
The vandalism comes less than a week after the third annual Ali Week, a community celebration during the first week of June that marks the passing of The Greatest.
During the week, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer unveiled the new brand name for the city's airport, now the Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport (SDF), alongside Ali's wife, Lonnie.
At the unveiling, Fischer said the city had a responsibility to continue Ali's legacy.
"We must do more than preserve his legacy; we must nurture, cultivate and advance that legacy because the name Muhammad Ali – and the values that he stood for – will forever have the power to inspire people to make the world a better place," Fischer said.
Jean Porter, Director of Communications at the Mayor's Office said, “It’s disappointing to see someone vandalize street art in this way, and it’s especially sad to see it targeted at hometown heroes and global icon like Muhammad Ali, who stood his whole life for compassion. People can disagree, but vandalism is a one-way, costly conversation that helps no one. We are working with the artist to repair the mural.”
Spokesperson for the Muhammad Ali Center, Jeanie Kahnke said the words spray painted on the mural do not reflect what Ali stood for.
"We're supposed to be a compassionate city," Kahnke said. "Muhammad Ali is one of the great in the world who united people of all persuasions regardless of race, ethnicity, culture and geographic boundary."
Police have not released information on a suspect in connection to the vandalism.
WHAS11 reached out to the artist behind the mural and have not heard back.
Contact reporter Senait Gebregiorgis at SGebregior@whas11.com and follow her on Twitter and Facebook.
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