Despite criticism from the mother of the deceased veteran regarding the choice to select Prince Harry as the winner of the Pat Tillman Award for Service, the award was presented to the Duke of Sussex on Thursday night at the 2024 ESPYs.
At the beginning of his acceptance speech, which took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California, the Duke of Sussex began by expressing his thanks to the Pat Tillman Foundation and recognizing Tillman's family, with a particular focus on Mary Tillman.
"Her advocacy for Pat's legacy is deeply personal and one that I respect. The bond between a mother and son is eternal and transcends even the greatest losses,” Prince Harry said, as per Business Insider.
Before the attacks of September 11, 2001, Tillman was a football player in the National Football League (NFL), but he decided to join the United States Army instead. A later incident in Afghanistan resulted in his death from friendly fire.
For his work with the Invictus Games, which is an annual international athletic event that he developed for wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women, both serving and veterans, the prize was presented to the son of King Charles, who is 39 years old. During the ceremony, Prince Harry, who was present alongside Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, stated that the award should be given to all of them rather than to him separately.
"I stand here not as Prince Harry, Pat Tillman Award recipient, but rather a voice on behalf of the Invictus Games Foundation and the thousands of veterans and service personnel from over 20 nations who have made the Invictus Games a reality. This award belongs to them, not to me,” Prince Harry said.
"The spirit of the Invictus Games transcends race, time and borders. It is born from unity and exudes purpose. This year we're celebrating ten years of witnessing life-changing impact and healing through sport,” the husband of Meghan Markle added.
In June, ESPN made the announcement that Prince Harry would be the recipient of the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the ESPYs, which were hosted by Serena Williams, a legendary figure in the sport of tennis.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Tillman's mother expressed her disagreement with the choice to designate Prince Harry as the recipient of the prize. She expressed her surprise that they would choose someone who is so controversial and contentious to win the honor.
"There are recipients that are far more fitting. There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans,” she stated.
British journalist Dan Wootton also expressed his disappointment on Prince Harry’s decision to receive the prestigious award. On X, formerly Twitter, he lambasted Prince William’s younger brother for mentioning the hero’s mother in his acceptance speech.
“Prince Harry accepted the Pat Tillman award at the ESPYs AGAINST the express wishes of the late American war hero's own mother. And he even had the cheek to refer to her in his acceptance speech. The Duke truly has no shame. No wonder Venus Williams stayed in her seat,” Dan penned.
“PIGGISH! Prince Harry's Pat Tillman awards speech was ‘selfish and narcissistic’, says Meghan's sister Sam Markle. ‘He clearly subordinated Pat Tillman and his mother,’ she tells me on Outspoken,” he added in another tweet.
Business Times has reached out to Prince Harry for comments.
