NFL Star & Arizona Cardinals safety turned Army Ranger Pat Tillman killed in enemy action in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON (AP) - Pat Tillman was killed in Afghanistan after walking away from a multimillion-dollar NFL contract to join the Army Rangers, U.S. officials said Friday.
Tillman, who served with the Army Rangers, was 27.
Although the military had not officially confirmed his death, the White House put out a statement of sympathy that praised Tillman as "an inspiration both on and off the football field."
Lt. Col. Matt Beevers, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Kabul, confirmed that a U.S. soldier was killed Thursday evening, but would not say whether it was Tillman. A military official at the Pentagon confirmed it was Tillman.
Beevers said the soldier died after a firefight with anti-coalition militia forces about 25 miles southwest of a U.S. military base at Khost, which has been the scene of frequent attacks.
Two other U.S. soldiers on the combat patrol were injured, and an Afghan soldier fighting alongside the Americans was killed.
Former Cardinals head coach Dave McGinnis said he felt both overwhelming sorrow and tremendous pride in Tillman, who "represented all that was good in sports."
"Pat knew his purpose in life," McGinnis said. "He proudly walked away from a career in football to a greater calling."
Several of Tillman's friends have said the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks influenced his decision to enlist.
"In sports we have a tendency to overuse terms like courage and bravery and heroes," said Cardinals vice president Michael Bidwill, son of the team's owner Bill Bidwill, "and then someone like Pat Tillman comes along and reminds us what those terms really mean."
Tillman is not the first NFL player to be killed in combat. Buffalo offensive lineman Bob Kalsu was killed by mortar fire during the Vietnam War in 1970.
A memorial was set up outside Cardinals' headquarters in Tempe, Ariz., with Tillman's No. 40 uniform in a glass frame alongside two teddy bears and two bouquets. A pen was left for people to write messages to Tillman's family.
Gov. Janet Napolitano ordered flags at Arizona State University, Tillman's alma mater, flown at half-staff.
"Pat Tillman personified all the best values of his country and the NFL," commissioner Paul Tagliabue said in a statement. "He was an achiever and leader on many levels who always put his team, his community, and his country ahead of his personal interests."
Former teammate Pete Kendall, the Cardinals' starting center, said Tillman's death was a jolt of the reality regarding the nation's fight in the Middle East.
"The loss of Pat brings it home," Kendall said. "Everyday there are countless families having to get the same news."
Kendall remembered going out with Tillman and his future wife, Marie.
"We had a meal and a couple of beers," Kendall said. "It was a nice night. I really looked forward to buying him another beer sometime down the road."
Arizona Sen. John McCain noted that Tillman declined to speak publicly about his decision to put his NFL career on hold.
"He viewed his decision as no more patriotic than that of his less fortunate, less renowned countrymen who loved our country enough to volunteer to defend her in a time of peril," McCain, a Republican, said in a statement.
[Amen, Sen. McCain!--Jen]
U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said a formal announcement was expected later in the day.
Tillman played four seasons with the Cardinals before enlisting in the Army in May 2002. The safety turned down a three-year, $3.6 million deal from Arizona.
He made the decision after returning from his honeymoon with his wife.
[May God send Mrs. Tillman a comforter in her loss. Bless her--she barely had any time with him as his wife.--J.T.]
"He knew what was important to him, and he made his decision and stood by it," said quarterback Eli Manning, expected to be a top pick in Saturday's NFL draft.
Tillman's brother, Kevin, a former minor league baseball prospect in the Cleveland Indians' organization, also joined the Rangers and served in the Middle East. They committed to three-year stints in the Army.
Some 110 U.S. soldiers have died - 39 of them in combat - during Operation Enduring Freedom, which began in Afghanistan in late 2001.
Tillman's agent, Frank Bauer, has called him a deep and clear thinker who has never valued material things.
In 2001, Tillman turned down a $9 million, five-year offer sheet from the Super Bowl champion St. Louis Rams out of loyalty to the Cardinals, and by joining the Army, he passed on millions more from the team.
Tillman turned aside interview requests after joining the Army. In December, during a trip home, he made a surprise visit to his Cardinal teammates.
"For all the respect and love that all of us have for Pat Tillman and his brother and Marie, for what they did and the sacrifices they made ... believe me, if you have a chance to sit down and talk with them, that respect and that love and admiration increase tenfold," McGinnis said at the time.
It was not immediately clear when he went to Afghanistan.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Tillman was distinguished by his intelligence and appetite for rugged play. As an undersized linebacker at Arizona State, he was the Pac-10's defensive player of the year in 1997.
He set a franchise record with 224 tackles in 2000 and warmed up for 2001's training camp by competing in a 70.2-mile triathlon in June.
Tillman carried a 3.84 grade point average through college and graduated with high honors in 3 1/2 academic years with a degree in marketing.
"You don't find guys that have that combination of being as bright and as tough as him," Phil Snow, who coached Tillman as Arizona State's defensive coordinator, said in 2002. "This guy could go live in a foxhole for a year by himself with no food."
Tillman and his brother Kevin last year won the Arthur Ashe Courage award at the 11th annual ESPY Awards.
I was just stunned with shock and sorrow when I read about Tillman's death.
when I first started blogging and thought he was such a hero, even then.
Outstanding and exemplary don't begin to describe this superb young man, but he refused to grandstand about his service and wouldn't give interviews to the press after he joined up and make a big deal about what he was doing.
He just wanted to serve his country in the best way he knew how after we'd been attacked.
May God welcome him to Heaven with open arms, as I'm sure He did, and comfort his wife and the rest of his family and loved ones and may He protect Pat's brother Kevin, who is still serving our country in uniform, as far as I know.
I suppose we shouldn't make any more over Pat Tillman than we do any other of our fine men and women who have given their lives in the War on Terror, but he was a "celebrity" and a "football star" that we all "knew" and even in death, he puts a face on the war.
Above all, Tillman's death shows us in a brutal way that war means death and worse, the death of truly good and decent soldiers like him and all the others who've died.
Pat Tillman used his celebrity for the good, to be an example to others (and at a time when there are too many sports figures in trouble with the Law and with substance abuse), and to make a statement with his own life and work that there was some things higher than fame and making money.
I grieve his loss, as I'm sure you do, too.
Night Rangers don't quit and no-one exemplified this more than Pat Tillman.
"Greater love hath no man than this, than that he would lay down his life for his friends."
Thank you for making the ultimate sacrifice, Pat, and for living your values: Duty, Honor, Country.
We miss you already and are diminished by your death, but Heaven needed a Hero today.
Rest in peace, Pat, and because of the sacrifice and service of America's brave men and women like you, we can sit here and watch football games in a world that's a little more peaceful because of what you do and in a country that's a lot more secure and safe because of what you do.
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