Pat Tillman after graduating from the U.S. Army Basic Combat Training. AP Photo.

Memorial to Pat Tillman has been created at Sun Devil Stadium, where he played football for the Sun Devils and the Cardinals.

Pat Tillman was Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year as a senior at Arizona State University. Arizona Republic Photo.

Tillman played in the NFL with the Arizona Cardinals.

Pat Tillman (November 6, 1976 – April 22, 2004) was an American football player in the National Football League who, in response to the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, abandoned his professional sports career and enlisted in the United States Army. He died in combat in Afghanistan; probably by friendly fire.[1]

Tillman was posthumously promoted to the enlisted rank of Corporal and awarded the Silver Star as well as the Purple Heart.

Biography

Born in San Jose, California, Tillman started his college career at the linebacker position for Arizona State University in 1994, when he secured the last remaining scholarship for the team. Tillman excelled as a linebacker at Arizona State, despite being relatively small for the position at 5-feet 11-inches (1.80 m) tall. As a senior he was voted the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Academically, Tillman majored in marketing and graduated in three and a half years with a 3.84 GPA.

In the 1998 NFL Draft, Tillman was selected as the 226th pick by the Arizona Cardinals. Tillman moved over to play the safety position in the NFL, and started 10 of 16 games in his rookie season.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Tillman turned down a $3.6 million contract from the Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army along with his brother Kevin, who had played minor league baseball professionally in the Cleveland Indians organization. Tillman and his brother completed training for the elite Army Ranger school in late 2002, and were assigned to the second battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment in Fort Lewis, Washington. Both Pat and Kevin were deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Tillman was specifically pointed out in Bill Maher's book When You Ride Alone, You Ride With Bin Laden , as being "the kind of hero that Americans needed to become."

Tillman was later redeployed to Afghanistan, where he was killed in action while on patrol when his unit was attacked in an ambush on April 22, 2004, on a road outside of the village of Sperah about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Khost, near the Pakistan border. He was the only Ranger killed in the attack, although two other Rangers were injured and an Afghan militia soldier was killed as well. The United States Department of Defense has concluded that Pat Tillman's death was likely due to friendly fire aggravated by the intensity of the firefight. So-called 'blue-on-blue' fatalities account for a significant percentage of all battlefield deaths. According to some reports no hostile forces were involved in the firefight, and two allied groups fired on each other in confusion over an exploded mine or remote controlled bomb. Army Special Operations Command, however, claims an exchange with hostile forces.

Tillman was the first professional football player to be killed in combat since the death of Bob Kalsu of the American Football League's Buffalo Bills, who died in the Vietnam War in 1970.

Tillman is survived by his wife, Marie.

Recognitions and criticism

Tillman and his brother Kevin won the Arthur Ashe Courage award at the 11th annual ESPY Awards in 2003. For his service, the U.S. Army posthumously promoted Tillman from Specialist to Corporal. He also received posthumous Silver Star and Purple Heart medals. The Cardinals retired his number 40 and Arizona State did the same for the number 42 he wore with the Sun Devils. It should be noted that his #42 was placed up on the West Press Box to be remembered by everyone who enters Sun Devil Stadium. The Cardinals will also name the plaza surrounding their new stadium, currently under construction in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, "Pat Tillman Freedom Plaza."

Tillman has been the subject of isolated criticisms after his death. University of Massachusetts graduate student Rene Gonzalez published a column in the school's student newspaper on April 28, 2004 attacking Tillman for being a "macho man" who got what he deserved. [2] Gonzalez later apologized after a barrage of adverse national media coverage. On May 3, 2004, a cartoon by Ted Rall distributed by Universal Press Syndicate received heavy criticism for portraying Tillman as a misled "idiot" who had enlisted to "kill Arabs". MSNBC.com, one of many organizations subscribed to Universal Press Syndicate, briefly posted the cartoon but pulled it when "MSNBC.com Editor in chief Dean Wright concluded [the] Rall item did not meet MSNBC.com standards of fairness and taste." [3] [4]

The Pat Tillman Foundation has been established to carry forward Tillman's legacy by inspiring and supporting those striving for positive change in themselves and the world around them.

References

1. DoD. Investigation Concludes Friendly Fire Probably Killed Tillman. Washington, USA: American Forces Press Service. May 29, 2004.
2. Many Factors in Tillman 'Friendly Fire' Death Washington Post. December 5, 2004.
3. Was Tillman Friendly Fire Victim? CBSNews.com, May 29 2004

External links

• Pat Tillman Foundation
• pat-tillman.org - a website calling for a monument dedicated to Pat Tillman and all those killed in the war against terrorism.
• 7 minute remembrance music video