Pat Tillman's mother 'shocked' that Prince Harry receives Pat Tillman Award at ESPYs

Special choices are made here…

In itself, honoring a leading royal figure from another country with an ESPY award named after a fallen American soldier is strange in itself. Arriving at such a decision without at least a conversation with Pat Tillman’s mother? This makes the whole saga even stranger.

It’s great that Prince Harry is taking the lead, using his enormous cultural influence and personal wealth to help veterans. God knows veterans deserve the world and more to keep us all safe, but the United States and myriad other countries often fail in their attempts to rehabilitate them to civilian life.

Prince Harry’s big contribution, earning him the Pat Tillman Service Award from ESPY voters, was starting the Invictus Games a decade ago, which gives injured service members the chance to participate in an Olympic-style sporting competition. As laudable as it is, Mary Tillman is upset that other people with less means to, for example… launch their own Olympic Games for veterans, are not being considered (via the site Daily Mail):

“I am shocked that they have chosen such a controversial and controversial person to receive this award. There are recipients who are much more deserving of this award. There are people who work in the veteran community and do extraordinary things to help veterans.

These individuals do not have the money, resources, connections, or privileges that Prince Harry has. I think these types of individuals should be (recognized). »

The mother of Pat Tillman, who enlisted in the military after 9/11 and was killed in 2004, says she was not consulted about the decision to nominate Prince Harry for the ESPY Award named in her son’s honor. @KellyCobiella reports. pic.twitter.com/iT5eXvNwyx

— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 1, 2024

Pat Tillman played four seasons in the NFL for the Arizona Cardinals before leaving to serve in the United States Army during the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. He died in April 2004 as a result of friendly fire, a tragedy that still raises many questions today, more than 20 years later.

The juxtaposition between who the ESPYs awarded the Tillman Prize to in 2023 and their decision to give it to Prince Harry this time around is rather jarring.

This moment. 🫶

Damar Hamlin was moved to tears as he introduced the Bills training staff who saved his life as they received the Pat Tillman Award for Service to @ESPYS. pic.twitter.com/uxbo1IcfYF

— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) July 13, 2023

I’m not saying that Prince Harry doesn’t deserve to be applauded for his philanthropic efforts. It’s just that perhaps another award would suit him better than the one that evokes the name Pat Tillman. Historically, this award has never been given to high-profile public figures like the Duke of Sussex. Doesn’t Prince Harry have enough flowers?

And for a distinguished decoration that evokes a member of the armed forces who gave his life for his country, giving it to a literal monarch seems strange.

Maybe the ESPYs should listen to Mary Tillman and reconsider their decision, regardless of who was involved in it.