Prince Harry has important figures on his side amid outrage over ESPN’s decision to honor him with the award Pat Tillman Distinguished Service Award — at least two former winners say Harry definitely deserves it.
Jake Madeiraa US Marine and former college football player who won the award in 2018, told TMZ that…the Duke of Sussex is a natural choice for the Tillman honor because of Harry’s military service and his dedication to veterans.
Jake believes Prince Harry is a good choice because he has dedicated his life to serving and supporting the military and veterans — Harry served two tours in Afghanistan — and that should be commended because there are hundreds of different ways a member of the British royal family can live their life.
Remember, Pat’s mother, Maria Tillmansparked controversy when she criticized ESPN for his plan to give the award named after his son to “a controversial and divisive individual” at this month’s ESPY Awards ceremony.
Even the ESPN personality Pat McAfee is publicly supporting Mary’s viewpoint, claiming that his network is purposefully trying to create controversy… supposedly to get better TV ratings.
Another previous winner, U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro Jr.received the Tillman Award in 2017 and completely disagrees with McAfee and Mary Tillman.
He says Harry’s work with wounded and injured veterans makes him a worthy recipient, and for what it’s worth… he’s looking forward to seeing Harry follow in his footsteps.
That’s also the view of ESPN, which insists that Harry was chosen specifically for his work as a founder of the Invictus Games for wounded and injured veterans. Harry’s foundation is celebrating 10 years of service.
The notion that ESPN selected Harry solely for the publicity doesn’t make sense to Jake, who points out…the ESPYs and ESPN aren’t hurting for celebrities and the ceremony is always packed with famous athletes.
Of course, Harry is the first celebrity to win the Pat Tillman Service Award — in the past, it was reserved for unsung heroes — but Jake says Harry’s military background sets him apart from most celebrities.
While Jake defends Harry here, make no mistake… he says Pat’s mother has every right to defend her son’s legacy however she sees fit, and he obviously doesn’t speak for the Tillman family.
Likewise, Israel has sympathy for Mary, but says the prize is all about service… and, for him at least, Prince Harry fits that bill.