People Scalping Tickets to Muhammad Ali’s Funeral Are the Worst

On Friday, there will be a public funeral service held for Muhammad Ali at the KFC Yum! Center in his hometown of Louisville, Ky. And in accordance with the late boxer's wishes, we should all expect a huge turnout at the event.

Ali's family gave away 15,000 free tickets to the service on Tuesday, because as his daughter Laila said during an interview this week, "He said he wanted it in an arena so everybody can come and be there...Trust me, if 10 million people come, that’s not going to be enough for him. He’s going to be like, ‘That’s it?’"

The 15,000 tickets available to the public were distributed in less than an hour with nearly 10,000 people lining up outside for tickets before the KFC Yum! Center box office even opened:

However, some wannabe entrepreneurs are trying to use their free tickets to turn a small, fairly inconsequential profit by scalping them for up to $100 on sites like Craigslist and eBay. According to USA Today, there are also some people trying to trade their tickets for valuable goods in an effort to get around the scalping laws that are in place in Kentucky. Scalping in the state is punishable by a fine of up to $250.

The practice has angered Ali's family spokesman, Bob Gunnell, who talked to the AP about it. "Muhammad Ali wanted this to be a free event, an event that was open to all," he said. "It is deplorable that some people are trying to profit off of the solemn service as we celebrate the life of Muhammad Ali."

WDRB reporter Sterling Riggs also reported that the Louisville Metro Police Department are working with sites like Craigslist to stop scalping from taking place: