Prince Harry delivered a heartfelt speech as he accepted the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the 2024 ESPY Awards on Thursday, July 11. The Duke of Sussex, 39, took the stage following a moving tribute by three Invictus Games alumni, expressing his gratitude to the Pat Tillman Foundation, co-founded by Pat Tillman’s widow, Marie Tillman Shelton, who was present at the ceremony. He also paid tribute to Tillman’s mother, Mary Tillman, who had previously criticized ESPN’s choice to award him this year’s honor.
“I’d like to begin by expressing my deepest gratitude to everyone at the Pat Tillman Foundation, led by Marie Tillman Shenton, who I’m so honored is here tonight. I’d also like to acknowledge the Tillman family, especially Mrs. Mary Tillman, Pat’s mother,” Harry said. “Her advocacy for Pat’s legacy is deeply personal and one that I respect.”
Harry continued, “The bond between a mother and son is eternal and transcends even the greatest losses,” evoking the memory of his own mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash when he was 12.
The Duke of Sussex, who served in the British Army for 10 years and undertook two tours in Afghanistan, was honored for his significant contributions to the veteran community through the Invictus Games, which he founded in 2014. The adaptive sports competition for wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans has been held six times since its debut 10 years ago. He was joined by his wife, Meghan Markle, who sat beside him in the audience as they watched an emotional video featuring Invictus Games athletes sharing the profound impact of the event Harry founded.
ESPYs host Serena Williams, a close friend of Meghan and Harry, gave a nod to the couple during her opening monologue. She then took the stage to introduce the “three heroes,” Invictus Games competitors, who received a standing ovation from the audience at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.
Meghan, 42, stood and applauded as her husband took the stage, where he held the award and delivered his speech, but not before making sure the Invictus Games athletes stayed on the stage with him. “You need to be with me,” he said.
Elsewhere in the speech, Prince Harry said, “The truth is, I stand here not as Prince Harry, Pat Tillman Award recipient, but rather a voice on behalf of the Invictus Games Foundation and the thousands of veterans and service personnel from over 20 nations who have made the Invictus Games a reality.”
“This award belongs to them, not to me,” he continued. “That said, it is of great importance to me to highlight these allies, athletes, and their amazing families for their achievements, their spirit, and their courage at every opportunity, especially on nights like this, in front of people like you. Moments like these help us reach those that need Invictus the most and reduce the more than 20 veterans a day taking their own lives, in this country alone.”
Referencing the Invictus Games’ milestone anniversary, he said, “This year, we are celebrating 10 years of witnessing life-changing impact and healing through sport. And while so much progress has been made since those first games, the world outside seems to be in an even more precarious state. We live in an age marked by polarization and division. Conflicts rage around the globe. Anger and resentment towards those who are different seem to pervade societies everywhere.”
“Our community challenges that. Our community proves that unity is not just possible, but formidable,” Harry said.
After it was announced on June 27 that Prince Harry would receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service, named in honor of the NFL player who enlisted in the military after 9/11 and died in Afghanistan in 2004 at age 27, Mary Tillman told the Daily Mail, “I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award.”
“There are recipients that are far more fitting. There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans,” Mary continued. “These individuals do not have the money, resources, connections, or privilege that Prince Harry has. I feel that those types of individuals should be recognized.”
ESPN said in a statement following Mary’s comments: “ESPN, with the support of the Tillman Foundation, is honoring Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, specifically for the work of The Invictus Games Foundation as it celebrates its 10th year promoting healing through the power of sport for military service members and veterans around the world. While we understand not everyone will agree with all honorees selected for any award, the Invictus Games Foundation does incredible work, and ESPN believes this is a cause worth celebrating.”
Prince Harry’s work with the Invictus Games has had a positive impact on service personnel and veterans, with Retired Chief Master Sgt. Garrett Kuwada telling PEOPLE in 2023 that the sporting competition was integral to his “healing process.”
“Even just now when I looked out, everybody’s got a smile on their face. Every competitor that’s out there, they’re smiling. And they’re from all different countries,” he said. “I’m so grateful that Prince Harry put this together for us veterans to come together and use this as part of our healing process. And we are, we’re healing, because everybody is smiling.”
Garrett’s wife, Joey, said the Invictus Games gave him “purpose,” adding that the Games have been “lifesaving” for Garrett and others. “This is lifesaving to a lot of people,” she said. “This is something that veterans, from our story, Garrett and I’s story, it saved his life. He looks forward to competing, it gives him purpose, it gives him something to strive for. He’s retired and his only job is to be an athlete, to be a competitor. And so for something like this to have for these injured servicemen and women, it’s needed. A lot of veterans feel like their lives are over, and they have nothing more positive to experience. But these Games, you can see, tell a whole different story.”
Each year, ESPN presents the Pat Tillman Award for Service to a person or group of people who have raised the standard for humanity in sports. On June 27, it was announced Prince Harry would be honored with the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the 2024 ESPY Awards. This award recognizes the Duke of Sussex’s founding and continued involvement in the Invictus Games. Pat Tillman’s mother spoke out against the controversial choice, saying she believes Prince Harry was not the best choice for the award.
“I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award,” Mary Tillman told the Daily Mail. “There are recipients that are far more fitting. There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans,” Tillman said. “These individuals do not have the money, resources, connections, or privilege that Prince Harry has. I feel that those types of individuals should be recognized.”
In response to the criticism, ESPN doubled down in explaining why Prince Harry and Invictus Games Foundation were selected. “ESPN, with the support of the Tillman Foundation, is honoring Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, specifically for the work of The Invictus Games Foundation as it celebrates its 10th year promoting healing through the power of sport for military service members and veterans around the world,” ESPN said in a statement responding to this criticism. “While we understand not everyone will agree with all honorees selected for any award, the Invictus Games Foundation does incredible work, and ESPN believes this is a cause worth celebrating.”
The Pat Tillman Foundation did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday morning.
Many regard Pat Tillman as the gold standard for American athletes. A true leader, both on the field and in his personal life, Tillman is widely recognized for his generosity and selflessness. While attending Arizona State University, Tillman led his team to the 1997 Rose Bowl after an undefeated season and earned three consecutive selections to the Pac-10 All-Academic Football Team, among many other academic and athletic achievements. Tillman was drafted to the Arizona Cardinals in the 1998 NFL Draft and broke the franchise record for tackles in 2000 as the team’s starting safety. But after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Tillman traded in his jersey and joined the U.S. Army. In 2004, he was killed by friendly fire.
The Pat Tillman Foundation continues to honor his legacy through a number of programs, like its Tillman Scholar Program which awards military service members, veterans, and spouses based on merit. The Pat Tillman Award for Service has a similar goal: recognize and reward selfless individuals. Last year, the Buffalo Bills training staff was awarded for their life-saving response to Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest during a game in January. Other recipients include Marcus Rashford, an English soccer player who raised millions of donations during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Joshua Sweeney, a U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Team forward who paved the way for adaptive sports.
The Invictus Games are an adaptive athletic competition for wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women created by Prince Harry. Since its inception in 2014, the Invictus Games Foundation has hosted five games, including its first in London and its latest in Düsseldorf. In 2025, the event will be hosted in Vancouver and expand its range of winter adaptive sports. According to its website, the internationally recognized foundation aims to offer a recovery pathway for those affected by their time serving and opportunities for post-traumatic growth, “enabling those involved to reclaim their purpose, identity and future, beyond injury.”
ESPN has defended its decision to honor Prince Harry with the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the 2024 ESPYs — despite blowback from the late hero’s mother, Mary Tillman. The Duke of Sussex, 39, was last week named as one of the recipients at this year’s upcoming ceremony for his military experience and work on the Invictus Games. But the announcement didn’t sit right with Mary, who slammed ESPN and claimed she was never consulted about the decision.
“ESPN, with the support of the Tillman Foundation, is honoring Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, specifically for the work of The Invictus Games Foundation as it celebrates its 10th year promoting healing through the power of sport for military service members and veterans around the world,” ESPN told The Post in a statement. “While we understand not everyone will agree with all honorees selected for any award, The Invictus Games Foundation does incredible work and ESPN believes this is a cause worth celebrating.”
The prestige award is handed out to individuals who have made significant contributions in the world, which echo the legacy of the former NFL player and US Army Ranger, who enlisted after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Speaking out about the decision, Mary hit out at the sports network. “I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award,” Mary told the Daily Mail. “There are recipients that are far more fitting,” she added. “There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans.”
The baffled mother also pointed out that Harry is already famous and has received plenty of awards in his life, so ESPN should have chosen someone else who’s never been in the spotlight. Mary’s condemnation was echoed by ESPN analyst Pat McAfee, who accused his own network of “trying to piss people off” for picking the exiled royal. “It’s going to Prince Harry,” McAfee said on his talk show, “who I don’t even think is a Prince anymore, right? He said don’t call me that? See, why does the ESPYs do this s–t?”
Despite Mary’s firm stance, two former recipients of the award have thrown their support behind ESPN’s decision to honor Harry. Jake Wood, a US Marine and former college football player who won the award in 2018, told TMZ that Harry is a “natural fit” for the honor due to his military background and work with veterans. US Air Force Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro Jr. — who won the award in 2017 — also said Harry is a worthy recipient. Wood told the outlet that the Duke dedicated his life to serving and supporting the military — which should be honored because there are many different ways he could have lived his life. Still, he made it known that Mary has every right to speak her mind.
Despite being mired in controversy over his royal life, Harry served the British military for 10 years, including two tours in Afghanistan as a helicopter pilot. He also created the Invictus Games in 2014, which serves as a multi-sport, Paralympic-styled games for wounded or injured servicemen and veterans. Tillman served in Iraq and then Afghanistan before he was killed by friendly fire in 2004.
“This one is for our entire service community,” the father of two said after learning of the honor. Tillman, a former safety for the Arizona Cardinals, served in Iraq and then Afghanistan before he was killed by friendly fire in 2004, with the soldier posthumously awarded the Silver Star and Purple Heart for his service.
Prince Harry gave a humble, heartfelt speech as he accepted the Pat Tillman Award for Service at the 2024 ESPY Awards Thursday, trying to downplay himself as the recipient while paying tribute to Tillman’s mother, Mary, who had not been happy that the “controversial and divisive” British royal was to receive a trophy in her son’s name. But, as with everything involving Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, the public remained fiercely divided over Harry’s decision to go ahead and accept the award named for the San Jose-reared NFL player and war hero who died in Afghanistan in 2004. Among those questioning Harry’s choice to accept the honor was a retired British military leader, Admiral Lord Alan West, who said earlier this week that the renegade son of King Charles III risked the wrath of military veterans by allowing organizations like ESPN to shower him with awards because of his high profile.
ESPN had said that Harry, who served in the British Army for 10 years and undertook two tours in Afghanistan, deserved the award because of his contributions to the veteran community through the Invictus Games. In 2014, Harry founded the games, which support wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women through international sporting events.
In his speech, Harry said, “The truth is, I stand here not as Prince Harry, Pat Tillman Award recipient, but rather as a voice on behalf of the Invictus Games Foundation and the thousands of veterans and service personnel from over 20 nations who have made the Invictus Games a reality. This award belongs to them, not to me.”
As Meghan beamed in pride from the audience, Harry also thanked the Pat Tillman Foundation and Marie Tillman Shenton, Pat Tillman’s widow. The foundation helped ESPN decide to honor the Duke of Sussex, and Marie Tillman Shenton smiled when Harry mentioned the foundation and her name. Harry then extended an olive branch to Mary Tillman by saying, “Her advocacy for Pat’s legacy is deeply personal and one that I respect.”
“The bond between a mother and son is eternal and transcends even the greatest losses,” he continued, evoking the memory of his own mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash when he was 12.
Mary Tillman told the Daily Mail last month that she was “shocked” that ESPN was giving Harry the award, which has in the past gone to people who are not household names. She said there are recipients who are more fitting, who “do not have the money, resources, connections or privilege that Prince Harry has.”
Social media lit up after Harry’s speech. ESPN’s X post on Harry’s speech received more than 1.9 million views and 2,300 replies overnight. Some people praised the Montecito-based duke for his “inspiring” work with the Invictus Games and said he appeared to be “a good, honest man.”
But many others questioned his decision to accept the award. They accused him and Meghan of “buying” this and other awards in the United States for publicity. Others said that Harry was using vets and a “real hero” like Pat Tillman “as a shield” to avoid backlash. Someone else also said it was “disingenuous” of Harry to mention Mary Tillman: “If he felt so strongly about her bond with her son and the award he should have declined to accept it.”
Critics also mentioned Harry’s choice to leave royal duties in 2020 and move to California — which effectively ended his ability to receive royal military appointments and honors in the U.K. They also picked apart the way Harry ended his speech by addressing veterans, telling them: “We will leave no one behind.” They pointed out that Harry spent the next couple years after moving to California complaining about royal life and “trashing” his family members in interviews and in his memoir “Spare.” To Harry’s vow to “leave no one behind,” someone said: “Except our families, our old friends and those for whom we have no use any more.”
ESPN’s choice to give Harry the Pat Tillman Award was opposed by more than 75,000 people who signed an online petition, saying the award should go to someone who exemplifies “duty, honor and sacrifice.” Tillman had walked away from a lucrative NFL contract with the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the U.S. Army Rangers after 9/11. The 27-year-old died in a friendly fire incident while serving in Afghanistan.
Popular ESPN analyst Pat McAfree suggested that his network was giving Harry the award “to piss people off” — that is, to capitalize on the controversy. McAfee’s co-host Boston Connor also said that it was “probably the most embarrassing thing I’ve seen in my entire life” while guest Ty Schmitt called presenting the award to Harry “a gimmick.”
As in the past, Thursday night’s ESPYs was a glitzy star-studded event, with a number of sports celebrities in attendance, including Patrick Mahomes and Caitlin Clark. The ceremony was hosted by tennis legend Serena Williams, who is Meghan’s close friend. When Williams opened the awards, she gave a shout-out to Harry and Meghan in the audience, referring to them as “actual royalty.” She also jokingly warned them to not “overshadow” her. “This is my night,” Williams quipped to the couple. “I don’t want to be overshadowed by you two breathing too much oxygen.”
Source: Daily Mail, PEOPLE, The Post
