Pat Tillman

Pat Tillman (November 6, 1976 – April 22, 2004) was an American football player who, in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks, abruptly left his professional sports career and enlisted in the United States Army. He was killed in Afghanistan by friendly fire.

Biography

Born in San Jose, California, Tillman started his college career at the linebacker position for Arizona State University in 1994, when he secured the last remaining scholarship for the team. Tillman excelled as a linebacker at Arizona State, despite being relatively small for the position at 5-feet 11-inches (1.80 m) tall. As a senior he was voted the Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year. Academically, Tillman majored in marketing and graduated in three and a half years with a 3.84 GPA.

Related Topics:
San Jose - California - Linebacker - Arizona State University - 1994 - Pac-10 - Marketing - GPA

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In the 1998 NFL Draft, Tillman was selected as the 226th pick by the Arizona Cardinals. Tillman moved over to play the safety position in the NFL, and started 10 of 16 games in his rookie season.

Related Topics:
1998 - NFL - Arizona Cardinals - Safety - Rookie

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After the September 11 2001 attacks, Tillman turned down a $3.6 million contract from the Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army, along with his brother Kevin, who had played minor league baseball professionally in the Cleveland Indians organization. The two brothers completed training for the elite Army Ranger school in late 2002, and were assigned to the second battalion of the 75th Ranger Regiment in Fort Lewis, Washington. Both Pat and Kevin were deployed to the Middle East as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Related Topics:
September 11 - 2001 - U.S. Army - Kevin - Minor league baseball - Cleveland Indians - Army Ranger - 75th Ranger Regiment - Fort Lewis - Washington - Middle East - Operation Iraqi Freedom

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Tillman was subsequently redeployed to Afghanistan, where, on April 22 2004, he was killed in action by friendly fire while on patrol. His unit was attacked in an ambush on a road outside of the village of Sperah about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Khost, near the Pakistan border. An Afghan militia soldier was killed and two other Rangers were injured as well. The U.S. Department of Defense concluded that Pat Tillman's death was due to friendly fire aggravated by the intensity of the firefight. It was later learned that in fact, no hostile forces were involved in the firefight, and two allied groups fired on each other in confusion over an exploded mine or remote controlled bomb. U.S. Army Special Operations Command, however, initially claimed there was an exchange with hostile forces. A later investigation conducted by Brigadier General Jones found that the Army promoted this story of a hostile exchange of fire while knowing it to be false.

Related Topics:
Afghanistan - April 22 - 2004 - Sperah - Khost - Department of Defense - U.S. Army Special Operations Command - Brigadier General

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Although Tillman fought and died in service to his country, he was critical of President Bush and opposed the war in Iraq.

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Tillman was the first professional football player to be killed in combat since the death of Bob Kalsu of the American Football League's Buffalo Bills, who died in the Vietnam War in 1970. Tillman was posthumously promoted from Specialist to Corporal. He also received posthumous Silver Star and Purple Heart medals. He is survived by his wife, Marie.

Related Topics:
Bob Kalsu - American Football League - Buffalo Bills - Vietnam War - 1970 - Specialist - Corporal - Silver Star - Purple Heart

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