Honestly, the Pat Tillman Award for Service has a way of making people incredibly uncomfortable. It’s supposed to be this shiny, gold-standard moment at the ESPYS. A time when the sports world pauses its obsession with highlight reels to look at something bigger.
But lately? It’s been a lightning rod.
Look at the 2024 ceremony. When ESPN announced Prince Harry would receive the honor, the internet basically melted down. Even Mary Tillman, Pat’s mother, went on record saying she was "shocked" by the choice. She felt there were "average" people—veterans without the royal PR machine or the bottomless bank account—who deserved it more.
It’s a fair point. But it also misses the weird, messy evolution of what this award has become.
What is the Pat Tillman Award for Service anyway?
Technically, it was born in 2014. ESPN teamed up with the Pat Tillman Foundation to mark the tenth anniversary of Pat’s death. If you don't know the story, Pat Tillman was the Arizona Cardinals safety who walked away from a multimillion-dollar NFL contract to join the Army Rangers after 9/11.
He didn't want the spotlight. He actually hated it. He just wanted to do what he felt was right.
Then came April 22, 2004. Pat was killed in Afghanistan. The initial story was that he died in a heroic exchange with the enemy. The truth, which came out later, was much more painful: friendly fire. A tragic, avoidable mistake in the fog of war.
The award is meant to honor people who echo that "service beyond self" ethos. But how do you measure that?
Usually, the recipient has a foot in both worlds: sports and service.
- 2025 Winners: Dave Walters and Erin Regan. These two are the perfect example of the "quiet hero." Walters was an Olympic gold medalist swimmer; Regan played pro soccer. Now? They’re firefighters in Los Angeles. They were on the front lines of the 2025 wildfires that ripped through LA County, literally saving the city while most of us watched the news in horror.
- 2023 Winners: The Buffalo Bills training staff. Remember when Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field? Those trainers didn't just "do their job." They acted with a level of clinical calm and bravery that saved a life in front of millions.
- 2021 Winner: Marcus Rashford. The Manchester United star used his platform to fight child food poverty in the UK. He went toe-to-toe with the government and won.
The 2024 Controversy: Prince Harry and the Invictus Games
The Duke of Sussex winning the Pat Tillman Award for Service felt different. People weren't mad because he hadn't served; he did two tours in Afghanistan. They were mad because of the "privilege" factor.
Mary Tillman told the Daily Mail she felt the award should go to someone "who doesn't have the money, resources, connections or privilege that Prince Harry has."
But there’s a flip side.
ESPN’s logic was centered on the Invictus Games. Harry founded them in 2014. It’s an international adaptive sports event for wounded and sick veterans. For a decade, it has given thousands of soldiers a reason to keep going. It’s sport as therapy.
When Harry stood on that stage in July 2024, he didn’t ignore the noise. He actually thanked Mary Tillman directly. He said the award wasn’t for him, but for the "thousands of veterans" the games represent.
It was a savvy move. Maybe even a necessary one.
The reality is that awards like this are always a balancing act for a network like ESPN. They want the big names to draw viewers. But they need the grassroots heroes to keep the award's soul intact.
👉 See also: Little League World Series TV Schedule: How to Watch Every Game in 2026
Why the Tillman Legacy is So Complicated
Pat Tillman wasn't a poster boy. In fact, he’d probably be pretty annoyed that there’s a massive televised award named after him. He was a guy who read Emerson and Noam Chomsky. He was a deep thinker who questioned the very war he was fighting in.
That’s what makes the Pat Tillman Award for Service so heavy. It’s not just about "supporting the troops." It’s about a specific kind of intellectual and physical courage.
Take 2022 winner Gretchen Evans. She’s a retired Army Command Sergeant Major who lost her hearing in a rocket blast. She started "Team UNBROKEN," an adaptive racing team. She’s exactly the kind of person Pat would have respected—someone who took a life-altering hit and turned it into a ladder for others.
A Quick Look at the Hall of Fame
If you look back at the roster, you see a pattern of people who "transcend" their sport.
- Kim Clavel (2020): A boxer who put her career on hold to return to nursing during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Kirstie Ennis (2019): A Marine veteran and climber who has completed massive expeditions despite losing a leg in a helicopter crash.
- Jake Wood (2018): A former college football player who co-founded Team Rubicon, which uses veterans for disaster relief.
How do you actually support the cause?
If you’re watching the ESPYS and feeling inspired (or even if you’re just annoyed by the celebrity winners), there are actual ways to engage with the legacy that don't involve a red carpet.
The Pat Tillman Foundation isn't just an award-giving body. It’s a scholarship machine. They select "Tillman Scholars" every year—around 60 people out of thousands of applicants. These are veterans and military spouses who are going back to school to become doctors, lawyers, and policy changers.
- Donate to the Scholarship Fund. The foundation has invested over $40 million in these scholars. It’s arguably the most direct way to honor Pat’s love for learning.
- Participate in Pat’s Run. Every April, thousands of people run 4.2 miles (a nod to his jersey number, 42) in Tempe, Arizona, and across the country. It’s a massive community event that funds the scholarship program.
- Follow the Scholars, Not Just the Winners. The real "service" often happens in the research labs and community centers where these scholars work after they graduate.
The Pat Tillman Award for Service will probably keep sparking debates. That’s okay. Service is complicated. Sacrifice is messy. And as long as we’re arguing about what it means to serve, we’re at least still thinking about Pat Tillman.
📖 Related: How to watch football game: Why it’s actually getting harder and how to fix it
If you want to dive deeper into the actual impact of the foundation, check out their official scholar profiles. You’ll find stories there that never make it to the ESPYS stage, but they’re the ones that would have made Pat the proudest.