This AP story reports that Pat Tillman, the NFL player who gave up his career to join the Army, has been killed in action in Afghanistan. There is no confirmation from the DoD yet.
Pat Tillman gave up a three million dollar contract with the Arizona Cardinals to join the US Army Rangers (special forces) after the September 11th attack by Al Qaeda. After the initial flurry of reporting on his decision, he disappeared from the media's radar, which was as he wished. He didn't want a media circus following him; it was a personal decision on his part, and he didn't ask for special considerations.
Tillman was known for his loyalty; he refused an offer from another team (one which would have significantly raised his salary) to stay with the team that drafted him, and then he asked to be released in order to serve his country. I'm humbled by his sacrifice; I'm not sure if I could have made the same decision had I been in his position. I'm saddened by the deaths of any American servicemember, but Tillman sacrificed his fame to serve his country, and gave his life as well.
UPDATE: Any comment in this thread that is inappropriate will be deleted, the poster will be banned, and I will identify the IP address in a separate post. I will not put up with the behavior exhibited by the trolls who have infested the larger sites.
posted on April 23, 2004 09:41 AM
