Count the mother of Pat Tillman among the growing number of people who have questioned whether “controversial” Prince Harry deserves an award named in honor of the San Jose-reared NFL star and war hero who was killed in Afghanistan.
Mary Tillman said in a statement that she was not consulted by ESPN over its decision to give the estranged son of King Charles III the 2024 Pat Tillman Award for Service at this year’s ESPY Awards. Harry is due to receive the award at a televised July 11 ceremony, which will be hosted by retired tennis star Serena Williams — who happens to be good friends with Harry’s equally divisive wife, Meghan Markle.
TOPSHOT – Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex waves as he arrives to attend a ceremony marking the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games, at St Paul’s Cathedral in central London, on May 8, 2024. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP) (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
“I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award,” Mary Tillman said about Harry in a statement to the Daily Mail.
Mary Tillman said she felt that organizers should have opted for a less famous recipient, as has been the case since the award was established in 2004 as a tribute to her son, the 27-year-old Leland High graduate who was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in April 2004. The Fremont native starred in football at Arizona State and walked away from a $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army Rangers after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Mary Tillman said there are people “far more fitting” for the award, people who “do not have the money, resources, connections or privilege that Prince Harry has.” She said, “I feel that those types of individuals should be recognized.”
Harry has not responded to a request for comment from People magazine about Mary Tillman’s statement.
ESPN said that the Tillman Award is “given to a person with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes the legacy of the former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger.”
But as Mary Tillman said, Harry has become a divisive figure in popular culture. He’s loved by many around the world for his decision to step away from royal life and to try and create a life for himself in California as a media mogul, philanthropist and mental health advocate. ESPN said that Harry is receiving the Pat Tillman award due to his service in the British Armed Forces, which included two tours in Afghanistan, and his work founding The Invictus Games, an international sporting event for wounded, injured and sick active-duty service men and women and veterans.
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But Harry also has become unpopular in his native U.K., and among many in the United States, who believe that he’s “a grifter” who has been trying to cash in on his royal name by criticizing his father, his brother and the monarchy in interviews, in a Netflix documentary and in his memoir “Spare.”
Harry’s decision to accept the Pat Tillman award also was met with scorn by Pat McAfee, ESPN’s own star sports analyst, and by organizers of a petition, who have thus far amassed more than 28,000 signatures in asking ESPN to rethink giving Harry the award.
On his show Friday, McAfee asked, “Why (do) the ESPYs do this (expletive)?” He criticized the ESPYs for appearing to pander to Harry, “who I don’t even think is a prince anymore.”
“Did (Prince Harry’s) people know like, ‘You publicly put me up for this award. You’re just asking basically every person that considers themselves American and saying ‘this is B.S. …’ Especially at a sports award type of thing. I assume Harry knew that, no?” McAfee continued.