In his life, Pat Tillman was used post-9/11 patriotic agit-prop – the football player who left a lucrative professional career to become an Army Ranger. His death by friendly fire was politicized for years, with high-level coverups and plenty of Pentagon shenanigans. The Tillman family does not speak with one voice – Pat Tillman’s widow Marie runs the Pat Tillman Foundation, and in 2017, Marie also spoke against Donald Trump when Trump politicized her late husband’s image in Trump’s beef with the NFL. Well, Pat’s mother Mary Tillman has some thoughts about Prince Harry being awarded the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the upcoming ESPYs. Mary Tillman ran straight to… the Mail on Sunday. Not an American publication? Weird.
The mother of a US war hero killed in Afghanistan has criticised the decision to give Prince Harry an award honouring her dead son. Harry will receive the memorial award set up in the name of Pat Tillman – an American football star who gave up a £3million contract to enlist in the US Army after 9/11 – in Hollywood next month.
But the soldier’s mother Mary said she was not consulted, adding: ‘I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award. 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 recognised.’
ESPN said Harry was being honoured for his ‘tireless work in making a positive impact for the veteran community through the power of sport’ with his Invictus Games.’
But the decision to honour him has led to a backlash. A petition yesterday demanded ESPN to think again, claiming Harry had been ‘involved in controversies that call into question his suitability to receive an honour of this magnitude’. It says: ‘Awarding this honour to someone who does not reflect the award’s intent diminishes its value and disrespects Tillman’s memory.’
Before people get too hyped up… Mary Tillman is a Gold Star mother. She has the right to her opinion about an award in her son’s name. Now, do I find this whole thing to be utterly bizarre? For sure. Why did she issue this statement exclusively to the Mail and not, you know, ESPN or the New York Times or USA Today? There also seems to be a selective ignorance going around about the Invictus Games and why Harry is actually receiving this award. ESPN commentator Pat McAfee – a certified dipsh-t – also blanked on Invictus, just as Mary Tillman did. I’m not saying that it’s a conspiracy, but there does seem to be a very strange agenda here.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Cover Images.
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- The Duke of Sussex, watches the wheelchair rugby at the Merkur Spiel-Arena, during the Invictus Games. Featuring: Prince Harry Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 10 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duke of Sussex, watches the track and field finals at the Merkur Spiel-Arena during the Invictus Games Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 11 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duke of Sussex, watches the track and field finals at the Merkur Spiel-Arena during the Invictus Games Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 11 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duke of Sussex (centre) kisses Davey Martinez of Team US on the head as he presents medals during the wheelchair rugby finals at the Merkur Spiel-Arena during the Invictus Games. Featuring: Prince Harry, Davey Martinez Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 11 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex during day 2 of Invictus Games 2023 at the Merkur Spiel-Arena Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 11 Sep 2023 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
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- The Duke of Sussex during a walkabout at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany, prior to attending the wheelchair basketball competition during the Invictus Games. Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 12 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex pose with the Polish sitting volleyball team at the Merkur Spiel-Arena during the Invictus Games Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 15 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet Ukrainian athlete Yuliia Paievska during a medal ceremony at the Invictus Games Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meet Ukrainian athlete Yuliia Paievska Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 15 Sep 2023 Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages **NORTH AMERICA RIGHTS ONLY**
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- Closing ceremony of the 2023 Invictus Games at the Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf Featuring: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex Where: Dusseldorf, Germany When: 16 Sep 2023 Credit: Dutch Press Photo/Cover Images **NOT AVAILABLE FOR PUBLICATION IN THE NETHERLANDS OR FRANCE**
It’s probably the Mail that went to her, not the other way around.
That fits the bill.
Yes. especially if she doesn’t know what Invictus is. Which would explain her problem.
I suspect you’re right.. The mail went to her, probably with a pack of lies about, imagine a prince who did xyz etc getting you’re sons award etc. I can see the lies they’d put forward.
That was my first assumption, most people don’t know much about PH beyond his name. Or she does know who he is and doesn’t like him, who knows but it’s suspicious that a very anti-Harry outlet gets these quotes.
Agree with all of you. I mean, what ‘controversies’ are Harry involved with? Lawsuits against the lying papers & their illegally obtained info? Those ‘controversies’?
I can imagine what they said to her. Something along the lines of “Harry went home early from his first tour, he was scared the taliban was targeting him.” Technically not false, but ignores the part where the taliban WAS trying to kill him, and it was his family that leaked his location to the British media, and the British media made sure all of the terrorists knew exactly where Harry was.
With hindsight, I’m thinking that the British media was completely underwhelmed by the “working royals” at the time, and wanted Harry back for some content, so the royal family leaked his location. It tracks with their current PR plan, and everything they have done to Harry and Meghan.
Yep. I wonder how much money she made for her quote too
“Quote”
Reading that, I don’t believe for a single second that’s how Pat Tillman’s mother speaks. That’s copy from a British reporter.
Agree @ShazBot. I know it’s a stretch that the Fail/BM would lie about a story. /s Is Harry still involved in a lawsuit against the DM/MoS too? Mary Tillman has discussed how Pat’s fellow soldiers were being scapegoated to cover up the higher ups.
I’m not even sure Mary was ever a part of the Pat Tillman Foundation. She’s not one of the founders. She was pretty busy trying to get the truth out.
My thoughts exactly. They called her.
I just wish she had taken the time to actually investigate the Invictus Games because they do exactly what she claims the award recipient should be about – “working in the veteran community…doing tremendous things to assist veterans.” The number of veterans who said they would have committed suicide if not for IG shouldn’t be ignored.
I also wish that she would have taken a moment to recognize that all of the “controversy” surrounding Harry is made up by trash newspapers like the Daily Fail.
The same thing that Mandela’s granddaughter did. Criticize now, fact check later. Then start backtracking. The same is going to happen here. She does not seem to know what he did or has done for veterans. Just think he got it for being a prince.
Kim Clavel, a past recipient, was a boxer who returned to nursing during covid. She didn’t focus on veterans nor was she herself a vet. Mary is entitled to her opinion but I suspect she doesn’t pay close attention to the awards.
Right? It sounds like she has absolutely no idea about invictus, and I’m sure the mail on Sunday didn’t giver her any of that info because that’s not important right? But yeah, if you are going to go after someone than you should probably do your due diligence about them first. I mean did she not wonder why he was being given the award? Did she think they were just doing it for the hell of it. Very bizarre.
It’s that right-wing chick Graham again. It’s her brand to dig up the parents of the ones she targets for the anti Harry and Meghan rhetoric and attack pieces for the Daily Mail.
Remember her obtaining Meghan’s letter to her father – (she even hired a house next to him in Mexico for sometime to monitor Markle SR in the Fails (alleged) campaign to derail Meghan’s wedding to Harry, and to slaughter of her character since then) and run it in the Daily Fail, for which Meghan sued, and won against that horrible tabloid big time in the UK court?
Yes, it’s that creepy creature.
The British media is determined to create chaos around anything involving the Sussexes in hopes of deterring others from associating/ working with them. It’s bonkers and beyond pathetic. How long will this obsession last?
Until a legitimate news outlet actually confirms that Mary Tillman said this, I’m presuming the Fail made this up to attack Harry and to have Sussex fans go after Mary. Remember in the H&M docu series and the school friend of Meghan’s said her Mom didn’t say what was printed in whatever BM tabloid. Countless examples of lies from the BM/BM affiliates.
Mary Tillman did an interview with Amy Goodman/Democracy Now about the cover up of Pat’s death and her book Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman. She was not a fan of the Bush administration. It’s a good interview. MT mentions a reporter from the Arizona Republic called her about Pat’s death and she said, “I have nothing to say”, and hung up. Having a hard time believing she would say anything to the Fail.imo
https://www.democracynow.org/2008/5/22/mary_tillman_mother_of_slain_nfl
Pat Tillman was a liberal and atheist. So it’s hilarious that maga folks on social media are defending him.
Funny, isn’t it? How all the words used are so familiar to what others have said against Harry. Kind of like it was scripted, non?
Gold star mom got cash for comments, like Meg’s daddy.
Of course it is absolute rubbish. This woman would probably not have expressed an opinion. The terrible British media are just looking for another story to put Harry down.
I am sure this woman would have said nothing if she had not been approached by the terrible British media always looking to bring Harry down.
It is probably Daily Mail calling up people to find a negative headline.
I’m assuming when they call they also offer a sum of money? That’s just how they do their journalism at the uk tabloids.
@jais Simon Rex has admitted as much.
The wife of Pat Tillman extends the prizes to the awardees. And she is part of the selection committee. The Mother used to be on board, but no longer. So she is not up to date in her knowledge of the selection of the candidates for the prize.
Either way, she should have done some read up before ”falling for that Graham woman and The Daily Fails usual sleesy traps” to get people to fill in their anti Harry (and Meghan) agenda. I assume she’ll have to do some explaining or backpadding in the coming days.
Probably have their articles written before they make any phone calls.
Weird that she isn’t on the award committee apparently but is everyone just ignoring the statement that was put out?? It literally explains why he’s getting the award. I know reading and comprehension is becoming a lost art but jeez. IG is huge and has quite an impact, nothing else in his life has anything to do with the space he has created for veterans.
No she’s not part of the foundation. Pat Tillman widow is, not his mom.
If she’s confused why didn’t she ask the foundation? Why is she going to British media? It seems like a Thomas markle situation, I wouldn’t be surprised if she was being paid for this statement.
I wonder if there is some distance between Mary and Marie and part of Mary’s statement has to do with a long term disagreement about how the foundation is run.
Pat Tillman’s wife AND brother are on the foundation board, not the mom. It does make one go, hmmmmmm.
Yeah, it’s weird. This happens anytime Harry and Meghan receive an award. I remember when they won the RFK award and they asked RFK Jr about it
( and he has nothing to do with the award) and he slammed them. They asked former pilots to slam Harry when he received his Living Legend award for aviation and now this. This will (sadly) always happen. I wonder if they reached out to Pat’s widow and she didn’t give them the answer they wanted?
That’s exactly what I thought. There’s always a disgruntled relative who may enjoy a paycheck.
There is nothing to support that she went to the British Media. Nothing. There is a lot more out there that supports how the British owned media lies. Every effin day. Maureen Eden has been busy working peeps up about nothingburgers. Caroline Graham is guilty with her manufactured/redacted/falsehoods article re: Meghan’s letter to Bad Dad.
There is nothing to suggest to me that Mary “Dannie” Tillman has a problem with Harry being a recipient of this award. Harry fits the bill of the award. He also fits the bill of someone being the scapegoat of a bigger situation.imo Mary would understand that.
Love that Marie Tillman came out and addressed the Orange One’s misuse of Patrick Tillman’s photo. A reminder, kneeling during the anthem wasn’t about the military/USA. At all. It was about police brutality.
“There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans.” Yeah, and one of them is Harry. She objects to him getting the award because he already has connections? She should have been objecting to others who have received the award if that is her beef.
I think I know what she is saying here and kinda see her point. Harry is rich, famous, and privileged. The ESPY people knew this would get lots of attention, even controversy. If they gave the award to Joe Smith who does the work in the field every day with no acclaim, who would care? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
? Marcus Rashford is rich and famous, and he won in 2021
Then why did she not object to Marcus Rashford or the Buffalo Bills training staff winning? And the award has gone to regular ‘joe’s” in the past, including some who are cited as IG medalists.
Yeah, no. That’s not her main point. Come on. Her main point is that she is “shocked they picked such a divisive person”. “Divisive” is MAGA for “married a Black person”. “Doesn’t uphold white privilege”, etc. I half expected the term “woke agenda” to come out. Harry even said this award is for the entire Invictis and veteran community and not just taking it all by himself for goodness sake. This is clearly a tabloid exploiting people and trying to defend any of this crap is disrespectful to Invictis and the veteran community.
@slippers4life And her disparaging comments are stoking the divisiveness she claims to find objectionable.
💯 Slippers4life!
@Sure Yep. She is creating divisiveness in her own family since her DIL and other son are on the board of the award.
Tell that to the many veterans who have benefited from the Invictus Games, who would either be dead or drinking themselves into oblivion from PTSD. The many families who got their loved ones back to full participation, believing in their self worth.
Being rich and privileged has nothing to do with the fact that Harry saw a need and took major steps to fulfill it. He created what has become a wildly successful program globally. The Daily Fail sent the same viper that took up residence with Meghan’s sperm donor , to slither up to this woman to get this comment.
Harry’s work will speak for it self when they play the video collage at the awards. This woman will and should be embarrassed.
@Brassy Rebel
As every decent, fair-minded person who has made Prince Harry’s life their business, knows by now, he might have grown up in a gilded cage but even way into adulthood, that life did not accord him personal wealth. If that were so, his new wife wouldnt have had to use her personal credit card to buy furniture and other amenities for their first home together.
So H was never a rich man. He is only becoming one, since 2020, after a lifetime of living in a literal gilded cage with no real assets to his name and his only liquid assets being his legacy from his mother – not himself.
It never ceases to fascinate me how pauperized arses love to sit in judgement of others based solely on their perception of them as “rich, famous, and privileged,” as if that automatically means theyre happy and fulfilled and problem-free and therefore are not deserving of being accorded basic human rights and dignity such as, being judged on their character and their deeds – not who jealous, envious, angry, red-eyed mendicants perceive them to be.
Brassy Rebel I’m confused on what your point is or what you presume her point is? There have been both rich and privileged recipients as well as ones who aren’t. Just as there have been those linked to the military, either through service or humanitarian work, and those who have neither served or worked with military based charities. Harry has not only served ten years active duty in the military, but has devoted the last ten years to a military based charity that has had a tremendous impact on the lives of wounded military veterans and their families all over the world with Invictus Games and has helped military families and their children with Scotties Little Soldiers. He embodies the description that she claims is what the award is all about.
BrassyRebel. The Pat Tillman award does not specifically state that the recipient needs to have served in the military nor does it state that those who have been helped by the recipient need a veteran or military connection. And since there is no cash prize associated with the award, the recipient’s financial status has no bearing. Mary Tillman is ill-informed if she thinks otherwise.
is this the real Brassy Rebel? there have been numerous imposters here, going back months. they usually spout royalist/BM talking points.
anyway, if they even called her, they probably said something like, “do you agree that…?” and then read their prepared statement. this is a load of nonsense, like pretty much everything that appears in the Fail. they should go back to staking out Ben Affleck’s driveway and keep Harry’s name out of their mouth.
he founded the freaking Invictus Games, which helps disabled veterans and their families. enough.
The Daily Mail is dying to convince British readers that Americans care about Huevo’s beef with Harry, and have taken Huevo’s side.
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Yep. Anything to distract from the fact that the actual heir is worthless and lazy, and only manages to ever get worked up about one thing. How much he can’t stand his little brother who has created not one, not two, but THREE charitable/non-profit organizations that are helping people all over the world.
Harry is one of the people on this planet who has done the MOST for veterans. If this is true, it’s pretty disappointing that she didn’t bother to learn about Invictus, because no one who looks at it is anything other than impressed. FFS, they are constantly trying to shoehorn Will and Kate into the founding of Invictus because of how successful it is. They are longing for that reflected glory while they did none of the work or fundraising.
Hopefully she and McAfee will educate themselves. There is absolutely nothing controversial about the work he has done for wounded veterans. That his family is horrific is not his fault.
They’ll certainly understand by the end of the award presentation. Gadzooks! The Mail is such poison! How do they not drown in all that bile they’re constantly swimming in?
There’s no way there isn’t something shady going on here. My guess is they were paid by the tabloids. Had the Mail ever covered the Espys before? Seems like they’re taking advantage of a gold star parent.
Yes but Mary could have educated herself about Invictus before commenting or could have simply said “no comment”.
Since some of the past winners like Israel delToro and Elizabeth Marks are described as IG medalists, I don’t see ignorance of IG as an excuse for her.
Yes, but she might have jumped on the hate Meghan and Harry bandwagon a while ago and that clouded her judgement.
The Mail probably called her and badmouthed him to her.
They probably told her he didn’t really start invictus, he’s a drug user, he left his family blah blah blah. The usual deranged talking points. How pathetic do you have to be to manipulate a woman like that?
Precisely. She probably never read “Spare” and thought he betrayed his family, instead of defending his wife and kids.
This is all very ugly.
How harder is it for people who are unaware of Harry service to just I don’t use google . Before they open up there mouths this award is all about service and the military so it’s pretty obviously that Harry have service before that why his being awarded this award . Mary couldn’t have pick up the phone called her daughter in law who runs the foundation and asked her questions about why Harry is receiving the award. Instead of going to a British tabloids with a statement that it fully of ignorance .
I expect they paid her for the information they put in the article.
Is she usually consulted? Making a point to say she was not consulted when I don’t think she has anything to do with the award was weird. All the controversy is going to do is give the award more attention and then hopefully people will learn about the IG. I’m assuming they do a reel or something with the award when it’s presented. So Harry will be his lovely self and rep IG at the awards ceremony. At some point, it does become a choice to not see the work being done.
The DM most likely asked “were you consulted” and she said “no.” The rest is bs they made up. Look for a comment by Mary Tillman saying she was misquoted.
ESPN put out a statement today that Mary has never been involved with any decision about recipients. She was careless in talking to the DM and tarnishing the memory of her son.
We don’t know that she was ‘careless’. It’s the effin Fail. I will say it again, the BM/Fail want Sussex supporters to go after Pat Tillman’s mom. She’s not MAGA.
We don’t know if Pat Tillman’s Mom said anything outside of nothing. If the originating source is the Fail, well, hello/goodbye. Don’t bite the hook.
Gold star mom or not the athletes that participate in invictus games are soldiers who fought in the same conflicts as her son. I’m truly upset that this is her opinion, she should have more respect for veterans programs that are positive. That’s about all the grace I can offer.
Yeah, her quotes don’t make her look good at all.
And her comments tarnish the award in honour of her son.
Im gonna go out on a limb here – which wont even be that much of stretch – to say dailyFAIL never spoke with Mary Tillman. It wouldnt be the first time that they barefacedly put words in people’s mouths, with quotation marks and all, to say they said something when they werent even asked a question in the first place.
But Im ready to be corrected should further and better particulars be revealed. Such as, for example, a conflict between Tillman widow and Tillman mother is being exploited here.
Agree @Kingston. I’m cool with being corrected too. By legitimate news outlets.
I’m just not at the ready to p*ss on a Gold Star mother who the BM claims to have said something. Pretty much anything and everything she’s said in the past is a contradiction to what the BM is claiming in the present.
Mary has discussed being gaslighted and whatnot from Higher Powers. Yea, no. She doesn’t have a grievance against Harry. EMPATHY.
I agree with the above comments. The Mail always seems to be looking for negative comments and “ testimony” about H and M. Like Thomas Markle popping in after months of respite from his grifter needs…
Or perhaps Willie getting in touch with requests from him to find some dirt to tarnish his brother getting an award.
The Mail has ramped up all their negativity these days anyway. Their Right Wing hate agenda is blasting out in all directions on everyone.
Multiple past recipients of the Tillman award were Invictus competitors. It really isn’t shocking at all that the guy who actually founded Invictus eventually won the award but we know how the British press loves to stir s**t to get people to trash Harry. I want to remind everyone of the section in Spare where Harry recounts that after he wasnt allowed to fight in Iraq multiple British papers lied and said he was too afraid to go and they interviewed the mother of a soldier who died in Iraq and posited the situation to her as Harry partying and not wanting to do his service and got her to trash him. This is an old tried and true playbook from the UK press and it is so sad they still choose to go after a man who fought in combat for the country like this while giving his relatives whove never served in combat stolen valor.
Agenda-journalism isn’t journalism.
Tillmans widow runs the foundation that gives the award so it must have been with her approval. Tillmans mother has no say. She needs to stfu.
Sounds like Tillman’s mother might be a Fox viewer who doesn’t get on with her son’s widow anymore.
It’s so weird (although of course people can change and become radicalized in 20 years!) but I remember watching a Pat Tillman documentary and the family (including the parents) seemed to be quite liberal! His brother, at the funeral saying that Pat would want everyone to know he didn’t believe in god and wasn’t in a better place because he was dead now (or something like that). Although I suppose that’s not mutually exclusive to her believing lies about Harry and Meghan.
@SussexWatcher, the number of white ‘liberal’ women I know who haaaaate Meghan and by association Harry is something.
Frfr, TigerMcQueen. I shouldn’t be surprised!
She can be a white liberal who hates that Harry married a black woman. Plenty of those.
McAfee is an idiot. He often makes statements or comments without facts, then has to come out and apologize or backtrack for being an overpaid talking head. As for Mary, her ex-daughter in law founded and runs the foundation. She makes the decisions about who gets the award and who doesn’t. Mary sounds like a Fox viewer. She’s entitled to her opinion, but that’s about it. Her opinion holds no value over the foundation’s selection.
the conspiracy is the fail exposing fractures in high profile families, Royal, Markles now Tilmans, she said he was controversal and she unwittingly put her familty right in the middle of it. I feel for her but she didn’t respect her DIL decision. What happens if Harry refuses. and i reckon this was a stratigic move of ESPN’s part so maybe show it on their channel in 2025
Don’t forgot the Kennedys and also Mandela family. Literally any award H&M has been given there’s always a family member screaming how they don’t deserve it. Rinse and repeat.
Yet the world keeps awarding them. Seems like despite these negative opinions of the loud minority they have no bearing on the impact H&M are making.
The Mandela family spoke out and said that a family member had been quoted out of context and the comments were twisted.
@Lili, we don’t know that Mary Tillman said anything outside of not being consulted. Which is a true statement. Patrick Tillman’s mother is not a part of the foundation named after him. It was founded by his wife Marie, his brother Kevin and close friends. PT’s mom was busy fighting to get the truth out.
The decision to give Harry the Pat Tillman award was signed off by the foundation, where Tillman’s widow and his brother who served in the same unit as Pat, are board members. So the family knew. Mary Tillman doesn’t sit on the board. Mary Tillman for years fighting for accountability to her son’s death even going before the US Congress. So far disciplinary action was taken against those in command. No court martial, no dishonorable discharge, no sentence to Leavenworth, the US military prison. The general who awarded the Silver Star posthumously to Tillman went with the cover up story to hide the death by friendly fire. He got a promotion and now a lucrative post military career. My point is if Mary Tillman was aggrieved by Harry she would have gone to US legitimate press first and not to the Fail. I doubt she would want the foundation’s image tarnished either. P.S. – according to X poster the writer of the hit piece is Caroline Graham, Toxic Tom’s handler.
Wow, Caroline Graham causing rifts in families all over the place. She’s also written a book about Camilla’s love story with Charles. So home-wrecking birds of a feather.
Chuck and Willy’s Rottweiler. These people sell their souls for money.
Of course it’s Caroline Graham. She tried to get into the Living Legends award but was denied. She will definitely try to get into the ESPY awards.
Because there is no recording of what Mary Tilman said, it is likely like Caroline Graham told her the British tabloid view of Harry, skipping Invictus games and his service and she picked up the phone and made an off hand comment. There is a clear agenda with anyone from British media and right wing nuts when it comes to Harry and Meghan.
If Mary Tillman continues giving similar interviews, then we will know she’s the problem and not just the DM.
It’s being repeated in all kinds of outlets like People and NBC sports. If she doesn’t feel this way and didn’t say anything, she needs to get on top of it.
If she was misrepresented I hope she says something. Bc it’s not just a dig at Harry, it’s also a dig at the foundation that honors her son. I’d be pissed if someone misrepresented my words or twisted them in a way that wasn’t intended.
I mean..she is saying the award is paid for and it shouldn’t be. I tend to agree. The key here is her saying people without means should be equally able to receive it…
The award is not paid for and that is not what she is saying. Why the need to put words in her mouth?
Doesn’t Harry do a job equal to his privilege? He is the founder, face of Invictus Games. He is no doubt in communication with huge corporate sponsors they are getting. It is a little funny people think the founder of a huge, successful initiative of veteran games shouldn’t get awarded and if he is, then that means he paid for it. That is literally absurd.
It isn’t the first time that Harry as been accused of paying for an award, don’t they realise how insulting that is to the award giver;
That would mean she’s accusing her DIL and the entire board of accepting money, essentially bribes, to get the award. That’s a pretty big accusation and it’s not even what she said. The board can award someone without means if they choose so. They chose to award Harry bc he created the IG which helps veterans from all different means. If someone has actual evidence that the Pat Tillman board takes bribes for awards that would be a big deal. But that’s not what’s she’s actually saying.
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Yeah no that’s not what she “meant” and it’s not paid for.
@Jessa…this is why I can’t take people who hate Harry and Meghan seriously.
You are allowed to agree with her and her sentiment without twisting her words.
She made the point that people who contributed to the veteran community and who did not have the kind of privilege and access to resources that Prince Harry had should be considered for the award.
That might be a valid point if that particular criteria had been used previously.
Having seen previous winners that is not part of the criteria and it cannot now be pulled out of a hat because Harry is winning the award.
It’s not paid for, come on. Regular people have won this award countless times. Also, Marcus Rashford won and the whole Buffalo Bills training team won as well.
You’re clearly just mouthing off and haven’t even looked at other winners aside from Marcus And Harry.
It will be awesome when ESPN airs this and a far larger audience sees the work Harry has done with Invictus and well as remind everyone he is the only member of his family who served in combat and for months. Idiots like this poster are blowing in the wind with their hate.
Andrew deflected missiles from his ship using a helicopter during the Falklands war. Credit where credit is due despite his recent behaviour.
You missed the “for months” part. That war lasted a week.
Jessa, well that’s really insulting. No, the award is NOT paid for. There have been Invictus Games competitors who have won the award. Are you saying they paid for the award?
I’m confused, @Jessa where exactly did the woman say the award is paid for?
That is not what she is saying because there have been recipients who are rich and not rich receiving this award. There have also been people who have served in the military and have not served in the military that have received this award. So that can’t be what she is saying because that goes against past recipients who the Daily Fail hasn’t approached her to complain about before.
It’s not paid for. Do not come here and lie.
Thank you @Jessa! I love when some numbnuts makes a dumb@ass statement thing. You did it! Thank you! Here’s your BM nasty flavored cupcake. Enjoy!
Invictus is amazing and has done great work with vets. Her palms were greased for a statement ala sperm donor Markle because the rota are desperate to elevate Will-not at Harry’s expense. When any “journalist” has to pay for sources, the resulting article should list the amount paid in the headline.
I completely disagree with your statement. There is no reason to accuse a mother who devoted years of her life to exposing the lies from the military about her son’s death of accepting money from a British tabloid. She is no Thomas Markle.
We know that the British media lie continuously and manipulate those they interview to get the story they want. Mary Tillman has preexisting contacts with American media not British. So clearly they reached out to her. I find it hard to believe she even thinks about the Royal family much less has an opinion about Harry.
Even though she just gave an opinion on Harry.
It’s sad that a “..a mother who devoted years of her life to exposing the lies from the military about her son’s ..” has now contributed to “lies” (misinformation) about another mother’s son.
@Sure, I agree 100% with you. If you are all about misinformation then do a quick google search on Prince Harry and Invictus. It’s not hard .
The main point about my comment was that I don’t believe Mary Tillman accepted money like Meghan’s family does.
And unless Mary Tillman doubles down on her alleged “opinion” about Prince Harry I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.
The British press lie all the time about Harry and Meghan—maybe they are lying about Mary Tillman too.
The reason it’s being said she may have gotten money has nothing to do with her necessarily. But that’s actually the way the uk papers work. It’s a distinguishing feature from the us press. People are in fact given money just for a phone interview on a topic. If she didn’t receive money, that would actually be odd bc it would go against how the uk press usually does things. They give money to sources and people who go on record for saying things. So it’s not a leap for people to assume she was paid. Maybe she wasn’t idk?
“Divisive” is a magat dog whistle for anyone that doesn’t live by the faux Christian evangelical agenda. She has been around the media long enough to understand what outlets to speak to and to know better than to make a statment to the lowest of the BRITISH gutter tabloids. She isn’t on the board for a reason. BAG’O CASH.
While I believe that Harry is very much a worthy recipient, I do see where Mary is coming from. It IS important to recognize people who are doing great work with fewer resources. She disagreed with the selection and made a thoughtful point. Her opposition to Harry receiving this award is not even remotely on the same level as that ignorant-and-proud rant from McAfee.
I think the DM absolutely went fishing for Mary’s comments, but I don’t know if I believe that anyone paid her. I just don’t think it would be necessary. As an American, she may not have known the DM’s reputation and simply believed that she was raising a valid point to a valid publication.
Funny that she hasn’t raised that “valid point” when any past winners were privileged and famous like Marcus Rashford or the Buffalo Bills Training Staff.
It seems like she’s not even involved in the selection, so I assume that no one had ever asked her opinion on previous winners until the DM went fishing? It’s possible that she’s been nursing this gripe for years, and the DM seized on it and fed her the false narrative that Harry is “controversial” to get that quote. I think many, if not most, Americans don’t even know enough about Harry to consider him “controversial”.
That said, I will admit that I’m inclined to be generous towards Mary. I can’t imagine what it was like to lose a son so tragically, and then have to fight to get to the bottom of a coverup orchestrated by those who wanted to use his death as the basest form of rah-rah propaganda. If what she’s saying here comes from an actually hateful mindset, I will be disappointed, but admit that my generosity was misplaced.
But, they can do that any other year. This isn’t the final award. They can give the award to someone with less resources next year. Why shouldn’t Harry be awarded as the founder of the games? Shouldn’t leaders get recognized when they are rich and famous?
Like I said, I personally believe that Harry is deserving of this recognition for his hard work with IG, in addition to being a veteran himself. I was just saying that I also see where she might be coming from, and I’m not ready to place her in the same category with shit-for-brains McAfee.
That’s not what she said though. She didn’t say “I wish the Pat Tillman foundation would stop giving this award to privileged people like they have every single year prior. I wish they’d totally change gears and give this ESPN award to someone without a privilege or a platform or who isn’t adjacent to the sports community.” She didn’t make a general statement about privilege. She made a statement specifically about Harry. That she was shocked that Harry got it. She then called him “divisive”. This was nothing more than a clear hit piece against Harry and the exploitation of a gold star parent. This was not a general statement about privilege, otherwise, they’d be criticizing all the past recipients and every professional athlete receiving these awards.
To be fair, we don’t know exactly what she said; we only know what the tabloid claims she said.
Bisynaptic there lies part of the problem. She hasn’t refuted the things that a UK media (and now other media) are claiming are her words. By staying silent and not condemning the words that have been connected to her she is quite frankly not only attacking Harry but Invictus Games, IG veteran participants and their families, Scotties Little Soldiers, ESPYs, the Tillman Foundation, her DIL and her son by allowing these untrue and unfair accusations to be reported and used to attack a former soldier and the amazing foundation he created to serve and protect people like her and her family members. She is essentially attacking another soldier based on her willingness to not do the bare minimum of researching IG.
Agree. And if she recognizes she jumped the gun, why hasn’t she corrected it herself with a statement to the press? I think she’s one of the many liberal white women who fell for the RF lies and hate Meghan.
@Nerd @GTW, true, but it takes time to sort these things out, if they ever get sorted out.
Isn’t it better to encourage privileged people to do something socially useful with their privilege?
I’m confused. So many of us are aware of Pat Tillman as a privileged NFL player who stepped away from his lucrative career to join the military. The contrast between his sacrifices and his privileges called attention to his valor. I see Harry’s military service and his commitment to veterans and to the Invictus games similarly. Two men of privilege stepped away from at least some of those privileges to assume the risks of active military service.
Obviously Mary Tillman gets to like whoever she likes, and to speak up as she would like, but these comments —as they’ve been presented by a questionable tabloid — don’t seem to serve to honor her son’s memory and sacrifice, or to further the cause of assisting veterans.
Her reported comments do, however, call my attention to the propensity of people with certain kinds of power to use coverups of different kinds to twist the truth and to call into question genuinely meaningful accomplishments. If Mary Tillman has genuine concerns about Harry — or any other nominee for the award — it’s troubling that she would resort to using infotainment media to address them. Again, if the goal is to assist veterans, none of this type of tabloid attention seems helpful.
🎯
Last year’s recipients saved a NFL player’s life on the filed. No connection to military or on-going support for veterans. They are very involved in sports medicine but no connection to support of military veterans in recovery that I can see. I am from the same area as the Tillmans. They are NOT right wingers at all. I do recall there being some strains between the Mom and the widow after his death. Marie is the widow and runs the Tillman Foundation out of Chicago. They either recommended Prince Harry or approved of the suggestion. A lot of us believe that Pat’s death was murder … not just friendly fire.
Unfortunately, even liberal white women fell for the RF campaign to destroy Harry and Meghan.
Obvious the DM called mom with a list of claims about Harry that are false based on fake news they have run in the past. Then they asked mom if she was consulted on the award to a “controversial” person. No surprise here.
All of this.
Shame on the DM for exploiting this woman. Yes, she could have declined to comment but she probably takes every opportunity to talk about her son. I highly doubt she knows anything about Harry, who clearly deserves this award.
I also wonder if there’s some rivalry with Pat’s widow, and that is a way to diss her a little.
When asked their opinion on any subject, I wish more people would learn to say “I don’t know enough about this to have a solid opinion, but let me learn more and I’ll get back to you”. It’s also a great idea to try and determine why that person is asking for your opinion, are they genuinely interested or are they looking for an argument or a clickbait quote?
Correct journalistic practice would have been to quote BOTH sides and to note that MT has no role with the foundation. But we’re talking about the Mail here.
Good thing the ESPYs put out a statement today, saying she has never been involved with choosing the recipients of this award.
I wonder if Mary Tillman would be offended if Harry declined to accept the honour because he didn’t want to offend her? I wonder if she would be happy for Harry to accept the award if he agreed to meeting her to discuss what incredible work the IGs does? Either scenario would be a HUGE win for the DM as they could run column inches for months on the back of it. I also wonder how much of her anger is because she doesn’t have a voice in the discussions as to who should win this prestigious award. I REALLY do not want to offend her but, I do believe she’s being used by the DM to cause controversy that will sell papers and gain clicks.
“Divisive” 🙄
I vaguely remember Pat Tillmans mom being in the news years ago for being upset about something else. Before that I had never paid attention to the foundation.
One thing I’m grateful for is the massive attention this will bring to Invictus! Like they say bad publicity is still publicity. This doesn’t reflect badly on Harry but on Mrs. Tillman
I suspect the DM called her about the award leaving that Harry works with veterans.
The Fail also failed to mention that Harry is an actual veteran who has invisible wounds (from the death of his mother and likely active duty) and after seeing wounded and deceased veterans on his return home and witnessing the American Warrior games he created something similar that has helped wounded veterans and their families all over the world.
But how can she be that misinformed?
What a low-class thing to say and do, and a smear to the award set up in her son’s memory. She’s given no valid reason for her complaints, she didn’t have these issues about any other recipient who has money, and she completely ignores WHY he’s getting the award. If she’s that pissed off that she’s not involved in the selection, she should take it up with her daughter-in-law, not the tabloids.
💯💯💯💯💯, @izzy. Gold star mother or not, I put her on a par with Thomas Markle Sr. And, just like with Tom Sr, I am not going to give her the benefit of the doubt. She sounds like some weird FOX-loving ignoramus who is taking the opportunity to not only level pot shots at Harry but at her ex-daughter-in-law as well. She’s probably pissed that Marie has moved on with her life. Just as Tom is pissed off at Meghan for the same thing.
Mary Tillman is not on the board of the foundation or involved in the running of it. Pat Tillman’s wife is and she does not speak to his Mother who sounds like a MAGA wingnut who lives on Faux News. They went looking for a Tom Markle, found them and made everyone look.
@mel, sorry, replied above to @Izzy’s comment and did not see that I was saying just about the same thing as you said previously! I totally agree with your comment and do not understand why so many commenters here are giving her the benefit of the doubt.
I have… a lot to say about the Tillmans…including Pat. But I will refrain for now.
Say it.
If it is explanatory of the comments she made, go ahead.
Come through, Ameerah.
I’m quite sure I share some of your same thoughts.
I don’t know if people are ready for it tbh. There is a LOT to unpack from a NFL player quitting his career to go k*ll brown folks in a foreign country in a war that turned out to be a giant lie. And the way the narrative around his death has been whitewashed not only by his family but by the US military. THERE. I said it. Or at least a part of it.
Give us some hints…?
This is the same playbook every time Prince Harry and Meghan have been given a particular honour. Find a regular tabloid military commentator or a relative who is not connected with the charity/foundation giving the honour & is usually slightly disgruntled with their family &.get a negative comment.
This happened earlier this year with Legend of Aviation where military guys were speaking down on Harry’s aviation skills. It happened with a Mandela relative when Harry gave a speech at the UN (although they came out & said their comments were twisted) and with RFK jnr with the Ripple of Hope award. Its very boring
I knew without looking that Caroline Graham would be involved & no doubt she will be on the red carpet on the night trying to get comments on the ‘controversy”.
Harry is like the poster child for this award having served in Afghanistan himself like Pat & then set up an adaptive sports competition for others who have served or are serving . Past Pat Tillman ESPYs have gone to Invictus Games competitors so idea the founder isn’t deserving is embarrassing
Some of the comments about Harry disrespected his family & abandoned his duty sound like they were from the tabloids – similar to the tabloid lines fed to Thomas markle so can’t even take them seriously. If people have a problem with the honour they should take it up with the PT Foundation which Pat’s widow is the chair of!
ESPN has already made a comment about this. They basically say Invictus Games does incredible work and deserves this award.
Mary was not consulted however she has not been previously involve with the selection of the recipient for the award named for her son.
https://x.com/bookedbusy/status/1807797674571186202
It is very obvious the people talking sh*t about Harry getting the award have no idea about Invictus. Love that they also emphasized the 10th year of Invictus as a milestone. That is what Harry achieved in a decade.
I also love that because of the stupid noise tabloids and derangers make every time someone recognizes Harry’s work, it becomes less and less a discussion point for others. You either believe Harry & Meghan have the financial and social power to buy each of these awards or there are multiple organizations who see and appreciate the work they do.
Sounds like ESPN believes she made these comments. Other outlets like NBC and People are also reporting on her comments to DM. Surely at least one of the other outlets reached out to allow her the chance to comment further or correct if untrue.
It’s become pretty clear over the past years that the British (no, not all of them) really have no respect for their Veterans. This article disrespects them once again. This is about Invictus and the comment Harry made when informed of the award tells you he believes it’s about Invictus.
ESPN would be HUGE for Invictus if they started showing the IG. The fact that they had ABC in Canada for the 1 years to go trip made it pretty obvious to me that they want to get more exposure by the networks.
My advice to the brf/bm: You will not make Billy Idle more popular in the US by continuing to smear Harry especially when you involve the IG. You just p!ss us off. It’s your royal family, not ours. We don’t want them. Harry is now in the US and you’ve made it clear that you don’t want him. Great! We’ll keep him.
This is gross. Why would the DM even do this mess? Lord.
To earn advertising revenue
Foundations need PR, that’s how the ecosystem works. They do galas and fund-raising, and then they seek media and public attention for the subsequent work they do. One of the many ways to do that: get famous people involved. You’re welcome to donate your own money privately, if you don’t like how the game is played.
Also, Mary, Harry is “a controversial and divisive individual?” In the words of Travis Kelce: Get the f— off Facebook, [Mom].
Sky News Australia is jumping in to the fray. They are “outraged” and feel the award should go to an American . They also insinuate that Harry may have paid for this. Australians have not been fans of Harry since he married.
Isn’t that Murdoch? Of course they are gonna be nasty to Harry. If they are implying Harry paid for the award, they are insulting the foundation awarding Harry. That is their problem. Also, I thought H&M were broke, apparently broke people can buy all the awards in USA.
Isn’t it interesting that of all the award recipients, past and present, Harry would be the only one to have paid to receive it. Things that make you go hmmmmmm!
Were they outraged when Marcus Rashford won for efforts made solely in the UK. IG is global (including Australian vets) unlike Rashford’s charity.
Did they make the same gripes when Markus Rashford from the UK got the award? There is no justification for their gripes when you factor in the numerous people who have received this award have the same attributes as Harry. Harry served in the military for 10 years (active duty) and then started a foundation that has helped wounded and injured veterans and their families all over the world. He also works with Scotties Little Soldiers which helps the families and children of fallen soldiers. Their attempt to muddy this only reflects their poor support of those who serve.
Not all Australians. It’s the same demographic that hates Harry and Meghan in the UK: older, right wing white folks. And it’s the Murdoch media as usual.
People are sleeping on Invictus, and it doesn’t sit right with me. It’s almost as if they don’t consider the games “real sports”.
I bet the mail made a donation to Tillman’s mother in return for her self righteous indignation.
Many Americans don’ t know Harry is a war veteran and that Invictus honors injured soldiers. Harry will have plenty of time to explain on the night of. The award will raise awareness and Mrs. Tillman can say whatever she likes. I’m sorry for her loss.
The announcement of him receiving the honor clearly mentions his work with IG. It’s not as if the announcement said Prince Harry is receiving it for being a prince. The pertinent information was there for her to do the research to find out more about why he is going to receive the honor. Like any prior announcement of an award, the “why” is always there and never hidden from those who care enough to do the work to be more informed.
That’s why I find it hard she didn’t know about his work. This seems malicious. Paid by the DM aka RF or just jumped on the anfi-Meghan bandwagon. I’m sorry for Harry to have to deal with more unfounded drama and hate before getting this award. He and Meghan can’t get a break. Sorry, she has a loss, many people have losses in life, but she should never have involved herself in this.
ESPN and the Tillman Foundation released a statement stating they stand by Harry and that the mom has never been consulted on the winners of this award.
Honestly it is really embarrassing for them. Harry didn’t put a nomination or smt. They chose him and his foundation as an awardee. Then, someone associated with them is talking sh*t about their choice and insulting their decision making.
It’s just a matter of time the Fail will throw the mom under the bus and claim she lied to them.
Rupert Murdoch is the king of preying on vulnerable old people. His minions started a petition against Harry and then called Tillman’s mom, a justifiably embittered woman who is still seeking redress from the government, and told a pack a lies about Harry. Sick stuff. Murdoch is a very sick man. There should be a class action lawsuit against him for elder abuse.
Good for them, and I don’t understand what the mom was trying to gain by making the statement in the first place. Did she need the $ or fame? Does she have been with the Foundation? Is she a closet Monarchist who’s STILL mad about the Oprah interview all these years later even though she had literally nothing to do with anything she thinks makes Harry a “controversial and divisive individual”??
That’s what I suspect. Divisive is such a wrong word for him. And the controversy was created by the RF, his brother in particular.
I’m very pleased that ESPN made a statement saying the award to Harry is for invictus games and the games helping the veterans .
Could be anything:
– she didn’t say anything like that: DM made up the quotes entirely (seems unlikely as she might slap back in the press)
– DM twisted what she said
– DM tricked her into expressing these concerns about giving the award to Harry
– DM paid her to say what they wanted
– she’s become a Fox News grandma who’s fighting w her son and DIL, and called up the DM at her own initiative (seems unlikely, the quotes sound British and why would she call DM instead of ESPN or WaPo or USA Today etc?)
The only possibility I’d rule out entirely is DM telling the whole truth about this conversation. Who knows what happened
No it couldn’t.
Not with someone as press-savvy as Mary Tillman (she has also testified before congress, fgs). She said what she meant and meant what she said.
As others here have noted, she has not come out and said that she either did not say what the Daily Mail quoted her as saying or that her words were twisted. She could easily pick up the phone and call a US publication to straighten this out but she has not.
I am going with your last two options. She is a Maga, Fox News, devotee who has gotten paid to trash Harry and Invictus.
If she really didn’t say these things, she needs to put out a statement, which she hasn’t. Lost respect.
Again, a controversy and what should be a celebratory event has been muddied because of a story in the Daily Mail. Who or what would want to achieve this state of affairs?
When I first saw this story, (not her) I immediately thought this woman gives me Maga vibes. However, one has to remember that her single-mindedness and her use of the press to find out the real circumstances of her son’s death does make me pause. It seems Caroline Graham and the Daily Mail are up to their old tricks at the very least. However, I should have thought this woman would be more savvy than TM. And why isn’t she in some way involved with the foundation set up to honour her son? Is there some conflict between her and the rest of the family? I think it is safe to assume this whole distasteful controversy was started by a member of the deplorable BM. And by the way, in what way is Harry “divisive?” Obviously they can’t say Harry is undeserving.
Glad ESPN has responded.
IDK it sounds like there are things going on behind the scenes that have nothing to do with Harry or anyone else who is nominated. Maybe there is a little bad blood.
This s the guy who joked about Larry Nassar, the doctor who sexually assaulted the U.S. gymnastics women’s team for years. Couldn’t find anything about McAfee ever, you know, serving his country.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/pat-mcafees-timeline-of-controversies-at-espn-from-aaron-rodgers-jimmy-kimmel-to-caitlin-clark/ar-BB1nCRIJ
Since we’re discussing awards, I would assume that the Tillman foundation would ask for nominations. I imagine it would be an American foundation or organization who submitted Harry and his work with veterans. Theoretically, the Invictus Foundation could have been the nominee. The award is not just for Americans since a British footballer has been a recipient. It would be interesting how the nomination came about.
“claiming Harry had been ‘involved in controversies that call into question his suitability to receive an honour of this magnitude’.”
What controversies? It’s the Year of Our Beyonce 2024. He married a biracial woman. It is not, and should not be controversial. The only ones who find it so are blatantly racist and need to wind their necks in.
Harry is not divisive. The ones being divisive are some in the media.
Controversy = Marrying a Black woman that your family doesn’t approve of.
Divisive = Speaking up against harassment and racism directed against his family.
This is what she meant.
The BM and KP wouldn’t GAF about the Pat Tillman award until it was given to H. The same when H got the Living Legend Aviation Award or presenting the NFL honors award – every time he’s successful here in the US they’re having a heart attack across the pond.