Twitter Blasts Bleacher Report’s ‘Absolutely Pathetic’ Portrayal of Pat Tillman: ‘He was Shot and Killed by His Own Men’
Todd Warshaw /Allsport
Eight months after the September 11 attacks, Pat Tillman gave up his NFL career and $3.6 million to enlist in the United States Army, serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Tillman was killed on April 22, 2004.
Every year, on the anniversary of Tillman’s death, he’s rightly touted as a hero, but the fact that the former NFL safety was killed by his own men is tactfully omitted. Bleacher Report was one of many outlets to partake in avoiding mention of friendly fire in their tweet.
The army initially blamed enemy combatants for killing Tillman, who was shot in the head three times from close range. It was not until later that the government acknowledged friendly fire. Tillman’s widow and brother Kevin, who also enlisted in 2002, have spoken out against the politicized use of his image, noting the late veteran opposed the war.
And while Tillman is often used as a form of patriotic propaganda, many on Twitter were demanding mention of the harsh reality surrounding his death.
not picking on b/r in particular here, because our industry has been indefensibly pathetic in how we portray tillman and what he represents.
a reminder that his family ain't here for the nonense is here: https://t.co/jPidPHNt42 https://t.co/6Aacr0u9s0
— bomani (@bomani_jones) April 22, 2021
instead, my industry uses him as a mascot for a lot of things an informed person *knows* he wasn't about, or certainly wasn't about after he'd spent some time in afghanistan.
again, how we use pat tillman is absolutely pathetic.
— bomani (@bomani_jones) April 22, 2021
Even Google’s remembrance of Pat Tillman is less offensive than this dreck https://t.co/d87lEPj4Il pic.twitter.com/sTsZewnGcu
— Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) April 22, 2021
Pat Tillman was a great man
But, on the anniversary of his death, we should remember that he was killed by our own troops and the US Army covered it up so they could use his death (as they continue to do) for PR reasons
Also, the war he gave his life to rages on 17 years later https://t.co/HUD8gp5yoq
— Libertarian-In-Chief (@ToddHagopian) April 22, 2021
*killed in Afghanistan 17yrs ago today, after he (Pat Tillman) became antiwar, by, and I cannot stress this enough, FRIENDLY FIRE in likely fratricide, or “gross negligence” according to THE ARMY’S INVESTIGATION that got buried after calling for CIC to determine “criminal intent” https://t.co/Ptbc8WosAU
— Kati (Noted Invalid) ♿️ (@katimcf) April 22, 2021
New rule, you’re not allowed to tweet about Pat Tillman unless you include the fact that he was shot and killed by his own men and that the circumstances of his death were covered up and spun by the Army https://t.co/VWCnitd4DH
— Jon Tayler, Top 0.1% On OnlyJons (@JATayler) April 22, 2021
The same Army is who killed him. Let's stop this bullshit use of Pat Tillman's memory with lies & omission. https://t.co/r9tJnjyi7u
— Leslie Mac (@LeslieMac) April 22, 2021
