Not everyone feels Prince Harry is deserving of his latest award.
Ahead of the ESPY Awards on July 11, the Duke of Sussex has been awarded this year’s 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.”
Each year, the award is granted to “a person with a strong connection to sports” whose dedication to public service encapsulates the spirit of former NFL player and US Army Ranger Pat Tillman, who put aside his football career to enlist in the army after the events of 9/11. The Silver Star and Purple Heart recipient died in Afghanistan from friendly fire in 2004.
Prince Harry is mainly being honored for his efforts with the Invictus Games, a charitable foundation and world-wide sporting event he created to benefit veterans after serving in the British Armed Forces for over 10 years. Per their website, The Invictus Games Foundation “offers a recovery pathway for international wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women” and works to “provide opportunities for post-traumatic growth: enabling those involved to reclaim their purpose, identity and future, beyond injury.”
“This one is for our entire service community,” Prince Harry said of the award, according to People.
However, Pat Tillman’s mother, Mary Tillman, says she has no hand in approving the honorees and thinks there are “far more fitting” recipients of the award. Meanwhile, many fans of her son have signed a petition calling for ESPN to change their decision.
“I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award,” Mary Tillman said in a recent interview with The Daily Mail. “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.”
