No Help for Mary Tillman?

Most of us can probably agree that former Arizona Cardinals linebacker Pat Tillman did a brave thing. After 9/11, instead of playing professional football, at which he was making millions of dollars, he joined the Army to do something about those who attacked the United States. Tillman died while serving his country, and at first, we were all led to believe that he died as a brave warrior killed by the enemy.

That’s certainly what President Bush led the country to believe, as the image of the brave football player dying as a warrior was used to help his campaign for reelection. Only it came out later that Tillman was, instead, killed by his fellow Americans, caught up in a friendly fire incident.

Mary Tillman, Pat Tillman’s mother, hasn’t been very happy with what she’s been getting from the government. Several years later, it’s still not exactly known what happened to Tillman. There are still many questions over exactly how he was killed. And since the Army and the government seem to be ignoring the request of Mrs. Tillman, the Tillman family, and various veteran’s groups, Mrs. Tillman has asked the NFL for help.

Sure, it seems kind of strange to ask the NFL for help in getting answers. But then again, many NFL owners are very rich and they all donate lots and lots of money to various political campaigns. So maybe it’s not asking for too much for the NFL to do a little something besides put a statue of her son up at the Arizona Cardinals stadium.

Maybe it’s not asking too much, but apparently, it is, since the NFL has yet to respond to any of her requests. Then again, maybe that’s Mrs. Tillman’s problem. Perhaps, if she wants some help from the NFL, she should promise them some tax breaks, or promise to buy a few suites at the Cardinals stadium.

After all, let’s be realistic. All her son really did was play a little football then die trying to protect his country. It’s not like he’s ever really done anything important, like help the league keep its anti-trust protection, or pass legislation making a city pay for a new franchise. Now maybe if he would have died in the trenches lobbying for the NFL she’d get some answers.

But since he didn’t, she’s probably expecting a bit too much if she thinks she’s going to get any help. – John Royal