Muhammad Ali portion of Louisville's 'Kentucky Rushmore' mural vandalized

A painting of Muhammad Ali that is featured alongside other historic Kentucky icons on a Bardstown Road mural in Louisville has been vandalized.

The words "racist," "antisemitic" and "homophobe" were painted in orange over Ali's portion of the "Kentucky Rushmore" mural that is on the side of the former WHY Louisville store near the intersection of Bardstown Road and Bonnycastle Avenue.

The orange paint was eventually covered up with white paint.

The mural also features paintings of Abraham Lincoln, Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Col. Harlan Sanders and Triple Crown-winning thoroughbred Secretariat.

Orange paint was also used to fill in the eyes of Ali on the mural.

The Sweet Spot Candy Shoppe and Dundee Candy now occupies the former WHY Louisville location at 1583 Bardstown Road.

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Johnny Hubbard, an employee at the Doo-Wop Shop, which is by the mural, said he first noticed the vandalism Wednesday around 11:30 a.m.

The Kentucky chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, has called on state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate the vandalism targeting the painting of Ali, who was a follower of Islam, as a possible hate crime.

"As Americans, we must continue to stand up and loudly say no to hatred and division," CAIR-Kentucky Chair Waheedah Muhammad said in a statement.

The vandalism over Ali's portion of the mural comes just days after the conclusion of Ali Week, a community celebration of the world champion boxer and Louisville native who died in 2016.

Officials also unveiled new branding last week at the recently renamed Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport that honors the boxing champ.

This is not the first time the mural that was created by artist Margaret Morely has been hit with paint.

In 2015, WHY Louisville owner Will Russell admitted to spray-painting the front of his store and also painting red the eye of the horse on the mural. The Courier Journal previously reported that Russell said the spray-painting was artwork for his store.

A Louisville Metro Police Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions regarding potential vandalism suspects.

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Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com or 502-582-7030. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.