The NFL’s Lonely Hero [ Pat Tillman ]

American Spectator ^ | 12/4/2003 | Paul Beston

[ClintonBeGone]

Watching football on Thanksgiving weekend reminded me of younger days when the NFL was a passion of mine. In recent years it has become more of a diversionary interest, and I no longer know who is who, or which teams are the ones to beat. While the league is still blessed with some admirable players, the ones I tend to remember now, unfortunately, are those who behave notoriously off the field or insufferably on it. But sitting among family on the holiday, I happily remembered Pat Tillman, the best story the NFL has had in many years.

Pat Tillman was the starting strong safety for the Arizona Cardinals when the 9/11 attacks occurred. He played out the 2001 season and then with his brother Kevin, a former minor league baseball player, enlisted in the Army Rangers. In doing so, Tillman walked away from a three-year, $3.6 million dollar contract with the Cardinals for an $18,000 salary and plentiful opportunities to get his head shot off. That hasn't happened yet, and God willing it won't. But the pay cut kicked in right away.

Some Internet surfing revealed that the Tillman brothers are currently deployed somewhere in the Middle East with the elite 75th Ranger Regiment. On the weekend before Thanksgiving, the brothers spoke briefly with their parents, who do not know where they are or what mission they are pursuing. They do know that their sons were in Iraq in the spring during the height of the fighting, and that this summer they were briefly stateside at Fort Lewis in Tacoma, Washington.

Outside of an ESPY award earlier this year and the occasional column, Tillman's story has gotten little press, but it's not all the media's fault. For one thing, as Tillman's parents well know, there is precious little information. For another, the Tillmans have not granted a single interview since their enlistment. Apparently determined that their endeavor not be construed as self-aggrandizing or insincere, they have simply done what they said they would do -- leave behind the fantasy world of sports to serve their country.

It would be a remarkable story in any time, but in a more cynical age it is nothing short of breathtaking. Imagine a 26-year old American male, talented enough to play in the National Football League and earn millions of dollars, leaving because he felt he had more important things to do. What could be more important than riches and fame? Why sacrifice when our culture so often portrays sacrifice as the preserve of misfits and losers? For many observers, Tillman's decision had to have an explanation more rational, and less abstract, than mere nobility.

Certainly that was the attitude of Tillman's former teammate Simeon Rice, who now plays with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Rice suggested that Tillman might be joining the army because he wasn't a very good football player anyway. While Tillman was not an All-Pro, he did set a Cardinals team record with 224 tackles in 2000. Even if Rice's charge were true, it takes an especially small person to voice such a thought publicly. But then the NFL happens to be densely populated with such men, including Rice's Tampa Bay teammate, the repulsive Warren Sapp.

In his inability to understand Tillman's patriotism, Rice no doubt spoke for many of his NFL colleagues. His incomprehension was further in evidence when, prompted by an interviewer, he acknowledged that his former teammate's decision was "admirable." Did Rice belatedly realize that it was patriotism -- one of the oldest virtues -- that had motivated Tillman? Of course not:

"Maybe it was the Rambo movies?" he asked. "Maybe it's Sylvester Stallone and Rocky?"

Right. If it isn't pure self-interest, then it must be unadulterated fantasy. Such is the mentality of a good portion of professional athletes today, particularly in the NFL, a once-proud league now overrun by exhibitionists whose constant preening is often difficult to distinguish from professional wrestling.

While media coverage of the Tillman story has been very positive, a subtle "wait and see" attitude prevails in some of the pieces that have been written, as if some revelation about a big-bucks contract, or perhaps a movie deal, will surface sooner or later to compromise his decision. The "mystery" some commentators see in Tillman's actions is almost certainly the result of his refusal to grant interviews; if he would only sit for a weepy tell-all, all of their doubts could be put to rest.

For most normal people, though, the story is pretty simple -- somewhere in the Middle East, Pat Tillman is serving the United States because he believes it is his duty. Meanwhile, back in the NFL, a contingent of helmeted narcissists -- Rice, Sapp, Jeremy Shockey, take your pick -- grow rich. The closest any of them will come to war is in the numbing military metaphors that have long been part of the repertoire of NFL players, coaches and broadcasters.

Pat Tillman knows where the real war is, which is why he left the fake one behind. If he decides to return to football when his three-year tour of duty is up, he would have the impact of a human disinfectant on the NFL. And his fellow players would owe him their gratitude -- even Simeon Rice, assuming he can reach that high.

[Euro-American Scum]

Cool Read, thanks for posting. Pat Tillman is a true hero just as allof our troops are. God Bless our Troops!

He sure makes Maurice Clarett and Mike Williams and all these other college greed merchants look pathetic by comparison.

[machogirl]

God Bless you Pat Tillman

[presidio9]

[white trash redneck]

I've always been pretty cynical about heroes, but Pat Tillman counts as a real hero to me. Not just because he enlisted, not just because he walked away from millions playing for the NFL, but because he scrupulously avoided blowing his own horn for doing it.

[military cop]

Can anyone out there get an e-mail address or unit address for Kevin Tillman?

RLTW

[not2worry]

You took the thought right out of my head!

Charlie and his croonies need to meet our fine men and women in the military. They are a true cross section of Americans. Shame on Rangel and Hagel for labeling the U.S. Military. Our troops are dedicated heroes, the cream of the crop, NOT the kind of low life these Congressman have described them as!

[ClintonBeGone]

You took the thought right out of my head! Charlie and his croonies need to meet our fine men and women in the military. They are a true cross section of Americans. Shame on Rangel and Hagel for labeling the U.S. Military. Our troops are dedicated heroes, the cream of the crop, NOT the kind of low life these Congressman have described them as!

Liberals hate America and will do anything to soil its honor. Tillman is a hero. Rangel and Hagel can't hold this guys canteen nor his jock strap.

[ClintonBeGone]

but because he scrupulously avoided blowing his own horn for doing it.

Compare and contrast Tillman to a punk like John Kerry.

[Vigilantcitizen]

I certainly hope the Army reassigns his brother to less dangerous duty, one death in the family should be enough I think.

I'd be willing to bet his brother will have none of that.

[Joe_October]

I wanted to say I was sad that he's gone but really, I'm thrilled that he lived!

Thank-you Pat.

[Damagro]

I certainly hope the Army reassigns his brother to less dangerous duty, one death in the family should be enough I think

---

I have a feeling that Kevin Tillman will want to continue what he and his brother started. They are both heroes and great Americans

[cgk]

Bumped and bookmarked. Thank you for posting this.

Tillman, tackling my good guy, before he went and tackled the bad guys. :)

[cgk]

It is very humbling, isn't it? I heard Brian Kilmeade say today, which I did not know, that before giving up his $3.4 million contract with the Cardinals, he had said "no thanks" to a $9 million contract the year before with the St. Louis Rams because the Cardinals drafted him when noone else would. He's a huge loss not just to our military, but to humanity in my opinion. He shows many what living is supposed to be about with his selflessness.

[kayak]

Literally centuries of lineage and battle honors were symbolized by the unique Ranger beret. Though little more than a dark piece of cloth to some, to those who serve as Rangers, the beret is representative of personal courage and selfless sacrifice. It is a symbol to be earned, not issued.

Pat Tillman lived the very essence of that ideal.

May God comfort his family and give them strength and peace!

[x1stcav]

I soured on pro-athletes years ago. What a bunch of whiney pukes. Compared to Tillman they're all a bunch of pooseies.

[white trash redneck]

Compare and contrast Tillman to a punk like John Kerry

...is comparing the sublime to the ridiculous.

[dufekin]

Great article. Not to minimize the sacrifice of this heroic Army Ranger, but...

But someone ought to remember First Lieutenant James Robert Kalsu (Bob Kalsu), the standout Buffalo Bill from Oklahoma City, graduated from University of Oklahoma. He died in Vietnam on 21 July 1970, a 25-year-old father of two. Actually, his wife gave birth to his son and namesake a day or two after he perished; he already had a daughter. He began his service in the Army as part of an ROTC obligation from which he probably could have been released. It would not be an understatement to say that thanks to John F. Kerry, Kalsu died in vain and has been forgotten.

Don Steinbrunner, a tackle on the Cleveland Browns team that lost the 1953 title game, played as an offensive lineman from 1954 to 1957. He then traded his football stardom for an Air Force career. For several years, he served as an assistant football coach at the Air Force Academy, contributing signficantly to the 1963 defeat of the otherwise undefeated Nebraska Cornhuskers. He later went to Vietnam voluntarily and without hesitation. Enemies in Vietnam shot down his plane on 10 July 1967; he did not survive. He is survived by his wife and children.

Nineteen professional football players (of 638 who served) died in the Second World War. Jack Lummus (New York Giants) received a Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously.

Roger Staubach (Dallas) and Rocky Bleier (Pittsburgh) also served in Veitnam.
Chad Hennings (Dallas) served in the liberation of Kuwait.
Mike Anderson (Denver, now Kansas City) served in Somalia and Kenya.
John Milem (San Francisco) was a Marine.

[ClintonBeGone]

Wow. Excellent information. Funny, I would guess the majority of those guys you listed who served were white. Yet professional sports are dominated by minorities. I guess this puts to rest for sure the question of whether only poor or minorities serve and give their life to their country.

[Blessed]

Wonder what round this guy would have gone in?

Dawkins, Peter M.
Football
b. March 8, 1938, Royal Oak, MI
One of the most celebrated college players of his time, not only because of his football skills but also because of his All-American boy image, Dawkins won the Heisman and Maxwell Trophies as the nation's outstanding college player in 1958.
A versatile performer, Dawkins rushed for only 428 yards but scored 12 touchdowns on 78 carries that season. He also caught 16 passes for 491 yards and 12 touchdowns; returned 7 kickoffs for 132 yards; and ran back 10 punts for 162 yards.

A three-year letterman in hockey, Dawkins graduated seventh in his class and won a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, where he starred in rugby. He then began an army career and in 1983 he became the Army's youngest general at forty-five.