Prince Harry Is Up for an Award, but Many Think He Doesn’t Deserve It
Who decides who becomes the recipient of an honorary award? ESPN wants to give an award to Prince Harry, but now there’s backlash.
The award in question is the Pat Tillman Award for Service which would be handed out at the 2024 ESPY (Excellence in Sports Performance Yearly) Awards.
Pat was a football player in the NFL who walked away from his career to serve in the military. He made this decision following 9/11 and ended up losing his life in Afghanistan. Therefore, a recipient of the award should be someone who has made an impact on the military and sports community.
On June 27th, ESPN announced that the prince would be this year’s recipient due to his creation of the Invictus Games as well as his impact on the veteran community. The problem is that Mary Tillman, the mother of Pat Tillman, doesn’t think Harry should get the award.
Mary told The Daily Mail, “I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award.”
She added, “There are recipients that are far more fitting. 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.”
Mary isn’t the only one upset about ESPN’s announcement that Harry would get the award. There’s also a petition asking ESPN to change their decision. The petition explains, “Awarding this honor to someone who does not reflect the award’s intent diminishes its value and disrespects Tillman’s memory.”
ESPN released a statement about the controversy sharing, “ESPN, with the support of the Tillman Foundation, is honoring Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, specifically for the work of The Invictus Games Foundation as it celebrates its 10th year promoting healing through the power of sport for military service members and veterans around the world. While we understand not everyone will agree with all honorees selected for any award, the Invictus Games Foundation does incredible work, and ESPN believes this is a cause worth celebrating.”
One example of the power of the Invictus Games is Retired Chief Master Sgt. Garrett Kuwada who told PEOPLE in 2023, “I’m so grateful that Prince Harry put this together for us veterans to come together and use this as part of our healing process. And we are, we’re healing, because everybody is smiling.”
Garrett’s wife, Joey, called the Invictus Games “lifesaving.” She shared, “This is something that veterans, from our story, Garrett and I’s story, it saved his life. He looks forward to competing, it gives him purpose, it gives him something to strive for. He’s retired and his only job is to be an athlete, to be a competitor. And so for something like this to have for these injured servicemen and women, it’s needed. A lot of veterans feel like their lives are over, and they have nothing more positive to experience. But these Games, you can see, tell a whole different story.”
Watch the video below to hear more about the controversy surrounding the decision to give Prince Harry the Pat Tillman award.