Written by ESPN News Staff at ESPN.com
Marie Tillman, the widow of former NFL player and U.S. Army serviceman Pat Tillman, told CNN in a statement that she doesn’t want the memory of her husband to be politicized.
“As a football player and soldier, Pat inspired countless Americans to unify,” Marie Tillman told CNN. “It is my hope that his memory should always remind people that we must come together. Pat’s service, along with that of every man and woman’s service, should never be politicized in a way that divides us. We are too great of a country for that. Those that serve fight for the American ideals of freedom, justice and democracy. They and their families know the cost of that fight. I know the very personal costs in a way I feel acutely every day.”
Pat Tillman stepped away from the NFL while in his playing prime to join the U.S. Army in 2002 and was killed in action in 2004.
“The very action of self-expression and the freedom to speak from one’s heart — no matter those views — is what Pat and so many other Americans have given their lives for,” Marie Tillman said. “Even if they didn’t always agree with those views. It is my sincere hope that our leaders both understand and learn from the lessons of Pat’s life and death, and also those of so many other brave Americans.”
On Monday, President Donald Trump retweeted a Twitter account that invoked the memory of Pat Tillman and included the hashtags “StandForOurAnthem” and “BoycottNFL.”
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