Article: Remembering Pat Tillman, The NFL’s Greatest Patriot and Hero (Michael Schottey)

The article written by Michael Schottey claims that Pat Tillman, an NFL player who turned down a lucrative contract to serve in the armed forces, is the NFL’s greatest patriot and a hero. I disagree strongly with this claim, as I do not feel that simply serving in the army makes you a hero. If you serve in the army, you can be a hero, but it really depends on the circumstance. For instance, in Pat Tillman’s case, he fought in a war that he disagreed with; yet Schottey claims that he “gave up professional football glory to sacrifice his life for the freedoms we celebrate on the Fourth of July”.  Pat Tillman didn’t sacrifice his life for our freedoms, he fought in a war that was arguably unjust and was killed by his fellow soldiers no less.  If, however, he sacrificed his life for his fellow soldiers in an act of unparalleled bravery, then yes, he would be a hero. The reality is he died tragically in an accident; that doesn’t qualify as heroism in my book. While his courage and mental strength for fighting in a war he disagreed with is admirable, it doesn’t qualify as heroism. That being said, there have been heroes in war; most notably those who fought during the Second World War. I would argue that their sacrifices were more “heroic” as they put their lives on the line for a very real and imminent threat. There is a TV miniseries called Band of Brothers that follows the journey of Easy Company of the 101st Airborne through Europe. It encapsulates why they fought; the following clip best describes the bond that they developed during their journey.

Reading: Man-of-Action Heroes: The Pursuit of Heroic Masculinity in Everyday Consumption (Douglas B. Holt and Craig J. Thompson)

What most intrigued me about this reading was its discussion of athletes and their inherent relation to the man-of-action hero trope. Holt and Thompson write: “The most lauded athletes are celebrated for their individual accomplishments, displays of superhuman skill, and inimitable personal style while at the same time acting as team players, expounding the importance of their supporting cast” (6). They go on to mention legendary athletes, like Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky, but they failed to discuss the one who perfectly personified the heroic man-of-action: Muhammad Ali.

Muhammad Ali is perhaps the most iconic sportsman of all time, not only because of his skill and talent as a boxer, but because of his charismatic personality and dedication to pushing back against the white supremacist power structure present in America during his career. He was cocky, witty and trash-talked his opponents to no end; he defeated powerful rivals where he was often considered the underdog. In addition, he stood up against the racism of American society in the 60s and 70s and became an icon for black racial pride. Through his boxing victories and public actions, Ali solidified his presence as a rebellious, man-of-action hero. Though in his day he was vilified and hated by many white Americans, his image gradually transformed into that of a true American hero. There are few athletes in history that have the iconic legacy he had because Ali perfectly maintained the “rugged individualism of the rebel” (6) and the “allegiance to collective interests” (6).