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Pat Tillman’s mother is ‘shocked’ that Prince Harry was selected to win the ESPY award in her son’s honor

Posted on by angelo

Pat Tillman’s mother said she was “shocked” to see Prince Harry chosen as the recipient of the 2024 Pat Tillman Service Award and that there are recipients who “are much more appropriate.”

“I am shocked why they chose such a controversial and controversial individual to receive this award,” his mother, Mary, told the Daily Mail.

For the past 10 years, this recognition has been given at the annual ESPY Awards to Purple Heart recipients, Iraq War veterans, Army sergeants, Paralympic gold medalists and, most recently, to the Buffalo Bills’ training staff for their life-saving measures when Bills safety Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest.

The award is usually given to unsung heroes, and Mary told the Daily Mail that there are others who “don’t have the money, resources, connections or privilege that Prince Harry has” and that she believes those types of people should be recognised.

“There are recipients who are much more appropriate,” she said. “There are people who work in the veterans community who do extraordinary things to help veterans.”

The Pat Tillman Foundation, founded and run by Pat’s widow Marie, did not respond to a request for comment.

Last week, ESPN announced that Harry would receive the award, citing his impact on the veteran community through the Invictus Games Foundation, which he founded. The Invictus Games were launched in 2014 as a sporting event for wounded, ill and injured service members.

“ESPN, with support from the Tillman Foundation, pays tribute to Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, in particular for the work of the Invictus Games Foundation as it celebrates its 10th year of promoting healing through the power of sport for service members and veterans around the world,” an ESPN spokesperson said in a statement.

“While we understand that not everyone will agree with every winner selected for an award, the Invictus Games Foundation does incredible work and ESPN believes it is a cause worth celebrating.”

Neither the Duke of Sussex nor the Invictus Games Foundation responded to requests for comment.

Tillman was a star football player at Arizona State before joining the NFL and excelling with the Arizona Cardinals. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Tillman turned down a contract offer from the Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army with his brother. In 2004, he was killed in action while deployed to Afghanistan in an incident that was later determined to be friendly fire, according to Defense Department and Congressional investigations.

The decision to honor Harry was also criticized by ESPN personality Pat McAfee, who said on his show that the decision was made “to try to piss people off.”

“When you do something like this, you know the immediate reaction of humans, sports fans and people with common sense,” McAfee said.

Harry, 39, will be honored alongside former NFL player Steve Gleason — who will receive the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage for his years of documenting his experience with ALS — and South Carolina women’s basketball coach Dawn Staley, who will receive the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance.

The ESPYS will be presented on Thursday July 11.

(Photo: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)