Recipients of the Pat Tillman Award say Prince Harry deserves the honor

Prince Harry has key figures in his corner amid the outrage over ESPN’s decision to honor him with the Pat Tilman Award for Service — at least two former winners say Harry certainly deserves it.

Jake Wooda U.S. Marine and former college football player who won the award in 2018, tells TMZ … the Duke of Sussex is a natural fit for Tillman’s honor because of Harry’s military service and his dedication to veterans.

Jake thinks Prince Harry is a good choice because he has dedicated his life to serving and supporting the military and veterans – Harry has served two tours in Afghanistan – and that should be commended because there are hundreds of different ways a British royal family could live his life. .

Remember, Pat’s mother, Maria Tilmancaused the controversy when she turned down ESPN for her plan to present the award named after her son to “a controversial and divisive individual” at the ESPY Awards ceremony this month.

Even ESPN personality Pat McAfee publicly supports Mary’s position and claims his network is deliberately trying to create a controversy… ostensibly for better TV ratings.

Another previous winner, US Air Force Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro Jr.received the Tillman Prize in 2017 and strongly disagrees with McAfee and Mary Tillman.

He says Harry’s work with wounded and injured veterans makes him a worthy recipient, and for what it’s worth… he’s looking forward to seeing Harry follow in his footsteps.

That is also ESPN’s view, as it maintains that Harry was chosen specifically because of his work as the founder of The Invictus Games for wounded and injured vets. Harry’s foundation is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

The idea that ESPN picked Harry purely for publicity doesn’t make sense to Jake, who points out…the ESPYs and ESPN don’t hurt celebrities and the ceremony is always packed with famous athletes.

Of course, Harry is the first celebrity to win the Pat Tillman Award for Service. In the past this has been reserved for unsung heroes, but Jake says Harry’s military background sets him apart from most celebrities.

While Jake is defending Harry here, don’t get it twisted… he says Pat’s mother has every right to defend her son’s legacy as she sees fit, and he obviously doesn’t speak for the Tillman family.