I didn’t know Pat Tillman, but from what I have read about him, that he didn’t seek publicity, that he didn’t want it as a matter of fact, I can’t imagine that he would want this: All of the front-page newspaper stories that appeared about his death in a firefight in Afghanistan last week.
He didn’t seek publicity, but he got it by giving his life for his country.
I remember when he walked away from the NFL, walked away from a multi-million dollar contract with the Arizona Cardinals, walked away from the glare of the NFL spotlight.
I wondered at the time: Why? Why would a man give up all of this, give up a job that many strive for, that many dream about from the time they are young boys, why would he give up a life of luxury and adulation to join the army?
Why? Why? Why?
Because he wasn’t like the rest of us, I guess.
Would you have done what he did if you had what he had? Would any of us?
I think we all know the answer.
In an era when it seems so many want their 15 minutes of fame, or their 15 seconds, when they can mug in front of a TV camera at a sports event or audition for a reality show or do something outlandish or whatever to attract a TV camera, Pat Tillman gave it all up to join the Army Rangers.
It was such an extraordinary thing to do that the news media were immediately attracted to the story.
And what a story it was.
Pat Tillman had been a superb student as well as a standout linebacker at Arizona State. He had been a late pick in the 1998 NFL draft, yet became a starting strong safety with the Cardinals.
Two years ago, the Cardinals offered him a three-year, $3.6 million contract and he turned it down to serve his country.
Everyone asked why. Nobody does that sort of thing in this country. It was almost like a story out of someone’s imagination, a story that some Hollywood script writer would dream up.
I kept waiting for Pat Tillman to appear before the TV cameras to tell us why.
I didn’t know Pat Tillman.
When the news media went after his story, they were turned down. He wouldn’t have anyone singling him out as someone special. He apparently saw himself as just one of the guys.
You can’t know how happy that made me. Someone had done something extraordinary, something really good, something noble, something courageous, something bold and he didn’t want it in the papers or on the TV.
Barbara Walters wouldn’t get his story, “60 Minutes” wouldn’t get it, The New York Times wouldn’t get it, nobody would get it.
Of course, the news media didn’t “get it” either. They figured he was like everyone else. Everyone in this country has a price. Everyone craves the camera.
That’s just it. He wasn’t like everyone else.
Pat Tillman wasn’t doing this for the publicity. He was doing it because … well, I don’t know that he ever said why he was doing it. Some said it was because of 9/11. Maybe only his family and close friends knew for sure. Or maybe only he knew for sure.
When it came right down to it, we didn’t need to know. It really wasn’t any of our business. We should respect his privacy, the fact that he didn’t feel compelled to go before the reporters and the talking heads and explain to us his reasons for putting on the uniform and joining an elite unit of soldiers.
Perhaps we’ll never know his motivation, but if you use common sense, you’d have to believe he did it for the love of his country and maybe because he had some adventure in his soul or maybe because it was one more challenge that he needed to undertake before he left this life.
Knowing what little I know about him, that he didn’t want the light to shine on him, knowing that, I can’t help but believe he would feel uncomfortable with all the front-page stories and TV time that has been given his death.
Wouldn’t Pat Tillman want us to pay as much respect to his fellow comrades in arms who have died, men and women who might not have been as well-known as he, men and women who were mechanics and cops and nurses and teachers and students before they went into the service, men and women who had jobs that were important but maybe not as glamorous as pro football?
Wouldn’t Pat Tillman have said, “I’m just like them?”
A human being, a soldier, a patriot.
And each and everyone … a hero.
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