The mother of fallen American hero Pat Tillman is "shocked" that the award named after her son would be given to Britain's Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.
The Pat Tillman Award for Service is an annual award given to an individual or group 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, Pat Tillman."
The award was established in 2014, ten years after Tillman died in combat in Afghanistan from friendly fire.
Tillman famously turned down a multi-year, multi-million NFL contract to enlist in the U.S. Army after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.
Recent recipients of the Pat Tillman Award include the Buffalo Bills Training Staff for reviving Damar Hamlin after he suddenly suffered a cardiac arrest in the middle of a game (2023), retired U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major Gretchen Evans (2022), professional footballer Marcus Rashford (2021), and professional boxer Kim Clavel (2020).
On Thursday, ESPN announced that Prince Harry would be the recipient of the Pat Tillman Award for Service.
"In honor of his tireless work in making a positive impact for the veteran community through the power of sport, Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service, an award 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, Pat Tillman," the press release stated. "After serving for 10 years in the British Armed Forces, including two tours of duty in Afghanistan as a forward air controller and Apache helicopter pilot, Prince Harry founded The Invictus Games Foundation, continuing his service by creating an international platform to support wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women – both active-duty and veterans – who are navigating both physical and invisible injuries."
Prince Harry will be presented the Pat Tillman Award at the 2024 ESPYs set to air on July 11.
Mary Tillman, the mother of Pat Tillman, was "shocked" that the award would be given to Prince Harry and said she was not consulted on the winner of her son's award.
Mary Tillman told the Daily Mail, "I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award."
She continued, "There are recipients that are far more fitting. There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans. These individuals do not have the money, resources, connections, or privilege that Prince Harry has. I feel that those types of individuals should be recognized."
Outspoken sports commentator Pat McAfee – who works at ESPN – was also dismayed by the selection and even ripped his own network.
McAfee said, "It's going to Prince Harry. Who I don’t even think is a Prince anymore, right? He said don’t call me that? See, why does the ESPYs do this s**t?"
"When you do something like this, you know the immediate reaction from humans and from sports fans and like people with like just common sense in brains," McAffe stated on "The Pat McAfee Show."
McAfee said that the decision to give Prince Harry the Pat Tillman Award had the intention of "trying to piss people off."
A petition has been launched to urge ESPN to "rethink" giving the Pat Tillman Award of Service to Prince Harry. At the time of publication, the petition had nearly 25,000 signatures.
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were maligned as "grifters" by a top Spotify executive in the aftermath of the breakup between the Sussexes and the streaming behemoth.
It was announced this week that Spotify and the celebrity couple would no longer continue their business relationship.
“Spotify and Archewell Audio have mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together,” a statement said.
The pair's podcast production company, Archewell Audio, had a multi-year partnership with Spotify that was expected to include multiple programs. However, Archewell Audio produced one series – Markle's show "Archetypes" – and a holiday special since signing a deal with Spotify in December 2020. "Archetypes" didn't premiere until August 2022, and only lasted 12 episodes.
The Spotify deal was reportedly worth around $20 million. The Wall Street Journal reported that the couple would not receive the entire $20 million payout from the Spotify deal, citing sources familiar with the matter. The couple did not produce enough content to receive the full payout, sources reportedly told the New York Post.
Bill Simmons, head of podcast innovation and monetization at Spotify, slammed Markle and the Duke of Sussex as "f***ing grifters."
"I wish I had been involved in the ‘Meghan and Harry leave Spotify’ negotiation," Simmons said on "The Bill Simmons Podcast." "'The f***ing grifters.' That's the podcast that we should've launched with them."
Simmons claimed that he had a video call with Prince Harry, "I gotta get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try to help him with podcast ideas. The grifters."
Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Insider.
Simmons blasted Prince Harry in January during his podcast.
"Shoot this guy to the sun. I'm so tired of this guy," Simmons said of Harry. "What does he bring to the table? He just whines about s**t and keeps giving interviews. Who gives a s**t? Who cares about your life? You weren’t even the favorite son. The other guy was the king, you're like the f**ing Fredo. F*** you."
"Nobody cares about this," Simmons declared. "He had like an eight-episode Netflix show – what did we find out?"
“I can’t stand him. So tired. I’m so embarrassed that I f***ing have to share Spotify with him, the guy sucks," he ranted. "It's embarassing that he's on our platform."
Simmons continued to trash Prince Harry, “What does he do? What’s your talent? Why are we listening to you? So you were born into the royal family and then you left. What are you good at?"
“You live in f***ing Montecito, and you just sell documentaries and podcasts, and nobody cares what you have to say about anything unless you talk about the royal family, and you just complain about them," Simmons continued. "He's got a book? What did he write a book about? Honestly, he’s the worst.”
\u201cBill Simmons losing his shit over prince harry gotta be one of the most random things I\u2019ll hear all week\u201d— Elyes \u0625\u0644\u064a\u0627\u0633 (@Elyes \u0625\u0644\u064a\u0627\u0633) 1673297661
In May 2022, Netflix canceled Markle's animated series titled "Pearl" before it aired a single episode.
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Advocating for dystopian environmental policies they have no intention of following is something Harry and Charles have in common.
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The latest chapter in the Meghan character arc is about the content she and hapless Harry are trying to pitch to their paymasters in Beverly Hills.
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