The Royal Family is on a roll. 24 hours after Travis Kelce divulged details of Prince William letting his hair down with Bon Jovi, Prince Harry has managed to one-up his brother by making headlines in American sports media thanks to the announcement of the Duke of Sussex as this year’s recipient of this year’s Pat Tillman Award.
Advertisement
Earlier today, ESPN [via Adam Schefter] broke the news of Prince Harry winning his debut ESPY. The Pat Tillman Award per ESPN is awarded to “a person with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes the legacy of the former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger, Pat Tillman.”
Also at the ESPYs: Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service, an award given to a person with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that echoes the legacy of the former NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger, Pat Tillman. https://t.co/3Tn2daJ9CR
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 27, 2024
For those out of the loop, Pat Tillman was a former Arizona Cardinals player who joined the U.S. Army after the heinous act of terrorism on 9/11. Unfortunately, his stint with the U.S. Army ended prematurely after he was killed in friendly fires while being posted in Afghanistan.
Thus it’s no surprise that the Memorial Award has been awarded to names that haven’t necessarily been athletes. Prince Harry thus joins an extraordinary list of recipients which includes the likes of Jake Wood, Manchester United star Marcus Rashford and boxer Kim Clavel.
It’s heartening to see the Duke of Sussex getting recognised for his recent act of service for the British Armed Forces. As part of his service, Prince Harry went on tour to Afghanistan twice. Moreover, ESPN in their official announcement noted The Duke’s contribution in founding The Invictus Games… for “creating an international platform to support wounded, injured, and sick servicemen and women — both active-duty and veterans — who are navigating both physical and invisible injuries.”
While the Pat Tillman award recipients aren’t chosen by the fans, the rest of the ESPYs are as democratic as it gets.
Vote To Make Your Favorite Athletes Win
For NFL fans, Patrick Mahomes was the undisputed poster boy as he bagged the ESPY for the Best Athlete award. Luckily for him, he is nominated for the same category yet again thanks to his massive contribution in helping the Chiefs win another Super Bowl. Competing with the KC Chiefs QB is the usual suspect Shohei Otani who has also received a nomination in the Best MLB Player category. Aces veteran A’Ja Wilson is also competing with the duo in the Best Athlete category.
Amongst the new kids in the block, we have the rising WNBA star Caitlin Clark nominated for multiple categories including Best Athlete, Women’s Sports; Best College Athlete, Women’s Sports and Best Record-Breaking Performance. As far as team accolades are concerned, it’s set to be a fierce battle between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Boston Celtics. Luckily for us, we have the power to select the winners via voting.
So head onto the ESPYS and cast your votes to decide the winners. The winners will be announced on July 11 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
