Pat Tillman will be turning in his grave as royal traitor Harry is honored in his name

Prince Harry was chosen by ESPN to receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the 2024 ESPYs. Photo by Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images

Pat Tillman is an American hero.

He was also the absolute nailed-down epitome of service and duty.

A man who gave up his $3.6 million contract as a professional NFL football star to serve his country in war as an $18,000-a-year Army Ranger.

A man who so intensely understood the meaning of the word “duty” that he risked, and subsequently gave, his life to safeguard our freedom and democracy after the devastating 9/11 terror attacks in New York.

A man who took an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; to bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and to obey the orders of the president of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over him.

A man who put everyone else before himself.

A man who loved his family with the same burning, passionate loyalty he displayed to the United States of America.

A man of honor, dignity, honesty and integrity who was as beloved by his family, friends and colleagues as much as he became beloved by his nation.

A man who chose lowly-paid selflessness over being a highly paid celebrity.

Tillman died in 2004 while serving his country in Iraq. AP Photo/Photography Plus via Williamson Stealth Media Solutions, FILE

Compare and contrast with Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex.

A man who has become the absolute nailed-down epitome of abandonment of service and duty.

A man who gave up serving his country to serve himself.

A man who so little understood the meaning of the word “duty” that he swapped his job working for the public as a member of the British Royal Family for life in California as a greedy, money-grabbing celebrity trading off royal titles he does nothing to earn.

A man who through his actions has shamefully renounced his own oath to bear “faithful and true allegiance” to both his grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, and his father, the new King Charles III.

A man who has constantly put himself before everyone else.

A man who has trashed, vilified, mocked and embarrassed his family with quite staggering venom and disloyalty.

A man of dishonor, indignity, dishonesty, and zero integrity who is now detested by most of his family, many of his old friends and colleagues and by much his country.

A man who chose selfishness and vacuous Hollywood status over selflessness.

Yet despite this Grand Canyon-sized gulf in class between the two men, the Duke of Sussex has inexplicably been chosen to be this year’s recipient of the annual memorial award established in Pat Tillman’s name for service.

The award is given each year by ESPN to a “person with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes the legacy of the former NFL player.”

The excuse for giving it to Harry, who once served in the British Army, is that he is the figurehead for the Invictus Games, an international sports competition for wounded veterans.

Harry was selected for the honor because of his work with the Invictus Games. Scotty's Little Soldiers

But the notion that he in any way “echoes the legacy” of Pat Tillman is a sick joke.

Only Tillman’s own family aren’t laughing.

His mother Mary, an extraordinary woman who has waged a relentless and courageous 20-year campaign to get to the truth about her son’s death – he was initially said to have died from enemy fire in Afghanistan, but it later emerged he was killed by friendly fire from other US soldiers, and military chiefs lied about it for a long time – told the Daily Mail: “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. 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.”

Her views are matched by public fury.

A petition launched to stop the renegade royal from receiving the award later this month in Los Angeles has already been signed by more than 25,000 people.

Tillman’s mother said she was “shocked” that Harry was picked for the award honoring her son’s sacrifice. NFL

It states: “Pat Tillman exemplified duty, honor, and sacrifice. Awarding this honor to someone who does not reflect the award’s intent diminishes its value and disrespects Tillman’s memory.”

Exactly.

In fact, it’s hard to think of anyone less suited to echoing the legacy of a man like Pat Tillman.

The Army Rangers abide by a creed.

It includes a commitment to uphold “prestige” and “honor,” to ‘never fail” comrades, to be courteous, to show fortitude, to set an example, to never surrender, and it concludes: “Under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country.”

How does all that sit with a hateful, rude, surly brat quitter who never stops embarrassing his country?

Tillman once said: “Somewhere inside, we hear a voice. It leads us in the direction of the person we wish to become. But it is up to us whether or not to follow.”

His inner voice led him to become a patriotic hero.

Harry’s inner voice led him to become a traitor.

Pat Tillman will be turning in his grave at this dishonoring of his name.