The Pat Tillman/ESPN Award Controversy
The award ceremony will be held on 11 July 2024
When ESPN suddenly announced that Harold was being given the Pat Tillman Award For Service on 27 June 2024, many thought that it was another ‘paid for award’ through a donation. Perhaps it was, but the main reason appeared to try and smother the news that Harold had been told to explain to a judge why evidence (as in his own texts, emails and other communications to his ghost writer) had either disappeared or been destroyed. Yes, destroying evidence in your own case when you are playing the victim is not a good look, and any ‘Good Samaritan’ news is useful as a cover up.
Nearly every media outlet has run articles that have questioned whether Harold was a suitable recipient, given that Pat Tillman’s mother disagreed with the choice. While she doesn’t have any dealings with the Pat Tillman Foundation (that is run by Pat’s former wife who is now remarried), Americans have expressed their disapproval in a petition that was set up on the same day as the announcement.
https://www.change.org/p/request-espn-to-rethink-awarding-the-pat-tillman-award-to-prince-harry
Currently sitting at 68,000 signatures, the petition was flagged, probably by eager cult members, TW, or their PR staff over a comment in the petition details where it was paraphrased that Harold was involved during a training session to have considered giving his father’s car as the coordinates as a target while in Sandringham. A barn was hit instead according to Harold’s memoir, but as it was written, it suggested that he (or the ghost writer) rather liked that power over harming the parent. If anything, such actions would suggest that psychiatric help was necessary and that the Army should have relieved him from any active duties. Nonetheless, Harold’s thoughts and intentions were not honourable ones that one would expect from a member of the Armed Forces, especially one that would have given rise to an act of treason (harming the then heir to the throne).
The award ceremony will be in Los Angeles on 11 July 2024, and will be hosted by faux pal, Serena Williams. How will he be received if he dares to show up to receive the award? Will there be silence, or a few claps from staff members? In his last military award speech (Service Members Awards in April), there were only a few audible claps, and the Living Legend of Aviation Awards are paid for awards that no one really takes notice of, and he was seated at the staff tables at the back of the room.
The difference here is that people are taking exception to Pat Tillman’s name is being used for Harkle PR and it dishonours his sacrifice and his memory.
While ESPN couldn’t ignore the backlash, they tried to defend their decision but it has made no difference. No one expected ESPN to reconsider giving the Pat Tillman Award to Harold, and ESPN has sought to claim that it is for his Invictus Games work, which then begs the question as to why it isn’t being given to the Invictus Games with Harold to collect it on behalf of the Invictus Games? Are they saying that he is getting the award for founding the games, in which case it should go to the Warrior Games which was the original idea that Harold had pinched from the American veterans?
But then again, some Americans have questioned why the Warrior Games hasn’t received the award seeing as that is where the Invictus Games stemmed from. No one has answered this question. Plus the fact that Harold was booed and jeered at the Invictus Games 10th anniversary service at St Paul’s only a couple of months ago— one can hardly say that Harold is a popular patron when he is booed, and veterans have publicly stated they have stopped donating to Invictus, and that athletes have also withdrawn their participation because the event has been used as a PR platform for the Harkles.
We can be blasé about it all as the award won’t exactly make headlines because England is in the semi-finals of Euro 2024 and will play the Netherlands on 10 July 2024. On the day of the awards, the papers in the UK will be packed with stories on the match, and even if England lose, there is the final to look forward to on 14 July. William attended the semi-finals and before TW, it would have been likely that Harold would have been with him. However, there is little to no sympathy left for Harold either in the UK or it seems in the US either.
Incidentally, Johnny Mercer who was the MP Harold shared confidential emails with against protocol in a bid to try and gain influence in Parliament to win back his 24/7 state funded protection detail, was again ‘harkled’. He had been fired twice, and now he lost his seat with only 28% of the vote in his constituency in the general election. However, he wasn’t the only Conservative to lose their seat as many who had an inkling that they would so had already bailed before being humiliated. What did they expect when they put an unelected man as leader of their party, where even the members didn’t get a say in matters? Again, while Sunak’s cash may have bought some influence over the years that helped the coup to give him the PM role, it shows that money cannot buy respect, votes, or power.
The Harkles assumed a title and some money would force people to respect them and that the law wouldn’t apply to them, but they were wrong. How can Harold wriggle out this one, where it appears he has deliberately misplaced or destroyed evidence? Is that the act of someone who is supposed to be honourable and worthy of an award for service? Perhaps he thought his Prince title would give him immunity (it doesn’t or shouldn’t)?
Will TW show up at the awards ceremony on 11 July with Harold, and what kind of reception will they receive given the enormous amount of backlash from the public, athletes, ESPN presenters, and Tillman’s mother? Either way, it has tarnished the award by way of association, but I’m glad that Mary Tillman was able to voice her opinions on the award as she is so entitled to do so, as a mother always protects their child even after they have died. The Harkle cult have no business criticising her opinions, as she, more than anyone else has a right to express an opinion— after all the award is in memory of her son.