Why Pat Tillman’s Mom Mary Is Upset About Prince Harry’s ESPY Award

Pat Tillman’s mom is talking out after ESPN introduced its determination to honor Prince Harry with an award within the late hero’s title at its upcoming 2024 ESPY Awards. 

The sports activities community introduced final Thursday that the Duke of Sussex is ready to obtain one of many three highest honors of the night, the Pat Tillman Award for service. 

“I’m shocked as to why they would choose such a controversial and divisive particular person to obtain the award,” Tillman’s mom, Mary, informed The Daily Mail. 

“There are recipients which can be much more becoming,” she continued. “There are people working within the veteran group which can be doing large issues to help veterans. These people wouldn’t have the cash, assets, connections or privilege that Prince Harry has. I really feel that these varieties of people needs to be acknowledged.”

Tillman was an Arizona Cardinals security who left the NFL to enlist within the Military following the September 11th attacks. He died in Afghanistan in 2004. He was 27. 

In response to a press launch, Harry is being introduced with the award “in honor of his tireless work in making a constructive influence for the veteran group via the facility of sport.”

The assertion continued, “Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, will obtain the Pat Tillman Award for Service, an award given to an individual with a powerful connection to sports activities who has served others in a means that echoes the legacy of the previous NFL participant and U.S. Military Ranger, Pat Tillman.”

The ESPYS is recognizing the work that Harry has finished for the last 10 years with his Invictus Games competition, which has allowed veterans with each seen and invisible accidents from varied nations to compete in Olympic-level athletic competitions. 

Like Tillman, Harry himself is a veteran, who served within the British Armed Forces as a ahead air controller and Apache helicopter pilot. Throughout his time within the army, Harry additionally did two excursions of obligation in Afghanistan.

It has not been introduced if Harry will attend the ceremony to obtain the award in individual.

Last year, the Pat Tillman award was presented to the Buffalo Payments coaching employees for offering life saving care to Damar Hamlin throughout his near-fatal incident on the discipline throughout a recreation. Different former recipients embody Gretchen Evans and Chris Wooden.

This 12 months, the ESPYS can even award Coach Daybreak Staley with the Jimmy V Award for Perseverance and Steve Gleason will obtain the Arthur Ashe Award for Braveness.

The 2024 ESPYS can be hosted by Serena Williams and can air stay Thursday, July 11 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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