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This article originally was published on April 23, 2004
Pat Tillman, the overachieving NFL player who walked away from a multimillion-dollar contract so he could serve his country as a member of the U.S. Army’s elite Rangers unit, was killed in action in southeastern Afghanistan on this date in 2004.
He was 27.
The death of a man who was heralded as a hero, despite his best efforts to be considered just another soldier, prompted heartfelt expressions of sympathy and tribute everywhere from the White House to his adopted state of Arizona to the athletic fields in San Jose where he grew up.
The White House in a statement praised Tillman as “an inspiration both on an off the football field.”
“For a lot of kids in Almaden, he was bigger than life,” added an emotional Randy Zimmer, who coached Tillman at Leland High School in San Jose’s Almaden Valley. “Even more important than that, for those of us that knew him, he was just Pat. He wasn’t Pat the football player. Just Pat. Somebody we loved.”
The Pentagon said in a terse announcement Friday that Tillman died when his patrol vehicle came under attack. A spokesman indicated that Tillman’s death came in a firefight in a battle with anti-coalition militia forces about 25 miles southwest of a U.S. military base at Khowst.
More than two years after the United States ousted the former government for supporting terrorism, more than 10,000 troops remain in Afghanistan and fighting continues against remnants of the Taliban and Al-Qaida.
Tillman played college football at Arizona State and was named the Pacific-10 Conference defensive player of the year as a senior in 1997. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals and played four seasons, mostly as a safety. But he became better-known — and in the eyes of many even heroic — for his decision to become a soldier.
A maverick free spirit who wore his hair long, Tillman turned his back on a three-year, $3.6 million contract offer by the Cardinals in 2002. Instead, he and his younger brother Kevin, a former minor league baseball player, enlisted in the Army with the goal of becoming Rangers, a specialized unit that is part of the Army’s Special Forces.
The Tillman brothers shunned the spotlight, turning down all interview requests. They also encouraged family and friends not to talk with the media, and that stance continued after Pat’s death. Family members were in seclusion Friday at their Almaden Valley home.
“I spoke with his mom and dad today and it’s been really tough,” said Terry Hardtke, the coach at Leland when Tillman was a senior. “They want to respect Pat’s wishes of not talking to the media, so I’m going to honor that, too.”
But tributes poured in.
“There were things that he thought were phony, and he thought news conferences about joining the Army were phony,” said his college coach, Bruce Snyder. “I think it’s worthwhile for all of us to gain an appreciation for him. He was not created by the media. This stuff was very real. I’ve never been around anybody like him.”
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a decorated Vietnam War veteran, said in a statement that he was “heartbroken” over Tillman’s death.
“But there is in Pat Tillman’s example, in his unexpected choice of duty to his country over the riches and other comforts of celebrity, and in his humility, such an inspiration to all of us,” McCain said.
Friends say that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks left a profound impact on both brothers. Soon after, they started researching military options and eventually set their sights on becoming Rangers.
Pat Tillman never told anyone except his high school sweetheart, Marie Ugenti, whom he married just before enlisting. The Tillmans were so determined to avoid publicity that they began the enlistment process in Denver, where it was unlikely that Pat would be recognized.
Last summer, when ESPN gave the brothers the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at its annual ESPY Awards telecast, they declined to attend even though they were back in the United States after serving a tour of duty in Iraq. They sent younger brother Richard to accept it for them.
Tillman was known for his down-to-earth and sometimes mischievous personality, as well as for his fierce loyalty. He was never the greatest athlete. At 5-foot-11 and 202 pounds, he was not big by NFL standards.
But he possessed an incredible intensity on the field. In one lopsided Leland victory his senior year, Tillman, who played on offense and defense, kept sneaking back on the field. Finally, coaches had to take away Tillman’s helmet and shoulder pads and hide them for the rest of the game.
“He was a big playmaker who was always around the ball,” said Dan Lloyd, Leland’s defensive coordinator in 1993. “So in the military, it wouldn’t surprise me that he would always be right in the middle of everything, that he would be the standard bearer for his outfit.”
Only three major colleges recruited Tillman, and Arizona State made him its last choice that year. There, he excelled on and off the field, helping the Sun Devils to a Rose Bowl as a linebacker and graduating with a 3.84 grade-point average in less than four years.
At Arizona State, Tillman also added to his reputation for being unconventional by climbing the light standards at Sun Devil Stadium for, he claimed, the solitude and the challenge. Later, when he was with the Cardinals, he prepared for one training camp by competing in a 70.2-mile triathlon — just because he wanted to see if he could do it.
Because of his size, Tillman was not considered an NFL prospect. But Dave McGinnis, who would become his coach with the Cardinals, remembers that when he worked out Tillman before the 1998 NFL draft, the player would not stop until he completed each drill perfectly.
“Everything he did as a player, he did full-speed,” McGinnis said. “And as you got to know him, you discovered that was the way he pursued every goal in his life.”
The Cardinals drafted him in the seventh and final round, with the 226th selection, and moved him to safety. Tillman became one of the team’s most popular players and set a franchise record with 224 tackles in 2000. Tillman was so indebted to the Cardinals’ belief in him that in 2001 he turned down a five-year, $9 million contract offer from the St. Louis Rams to stay with Arizona, even though the Cardinals paid him $512,000 for one season.
Then he made an even bigger sacrifice — joining the Army.
Robert Setterlund, Leland’s vice principal for instruction, recalled that Tillman was so popular that “he moved in groups the size of soccer teams.” But Setterlund said that same Leland community was concerned about Tillman when they learned he was becoming a Ranger.
“He never played it safe,” Setterlund said. “So we feared when he was putting himself in harm’s way.”
In December, Tillman attended a Cardinals game in Seattle. McGinnis said he spent about five hours the night before the game with Tillman, his wife and his brother.
“It was very inspiring to be with him and hear his commitment and how proud it was for both him and Kevin to be Rangers,” McGinnis said. “It’s hard to imagine that he’s gone. And yet this goes to the essence of what he was. Words like honor, commitment and integrity truly were how the guy lived his life.”
McGinnis said Tillman had planned to return to the NFL when his three-year military obligation was completed.
Doug Tammaro, an official in the Arizona State athletic department and a close friend of Tillman, said they exchanged phone messages April 1. Tillman told him that he was going to Afghanistan.
Tillman’s 2nd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment has been involved in Operation Mountain Storm in southeastern Afghanistan. In addition to his death Thursday, two other U.S. soldiers on the combat patrol were injured, and an Afghan soldier fighting alongside the Americans was killed.
Arizona State announced Friday that it will retire Tillman’s No. 42 jersey after the 2004 season.
“Whatever people do or say about Pat, it’s not enough,” Tammaro said. “But in Pat’s eyes, it’s too much. If he saw all the attention he’s getting, he’d say, ‘Let’s concentrate on the guys that are still over there.’ “