Pat Tillman’s Widow Doesn’t Want Her Husband Used for Anti-Kaepernick Stunts
On Monday, Nike announced the face of the thirtieth anniversary of its iconic "Just Do It" campaign: GQ's own Citizen of the Year, Colin Kaepernick. And as with every other time Kaepernick has earned an accolade, Donald Trump's supporters lost their damn minds.
In this case, right-wing doofuses across the Internet started angrily tweeting that Nike should instead have chosen former Arizona Cardinal Pat Tillman, who died in Afghanistan from friendly fire in 2004. It's the kind of hiding-behind-vets technique that's commonly used when political leaders want to avoid or deflect criticism, but unfortunately Tillman's family wants no part of it. And we know this because Trump already tried a year ago to drag Tillman into his attacks on NFL players like Kaepernick who protest police brutality. At the time, Tillman's widow, Marie, issued a statement to CNN asking, in extremely non-confrontational language, that Trump knock it off. Per CNN:
"As a football player and soldier, Pat inspired countless Americans to unify," Marie said. "It is my hope that his memory should always remind people that we must come together."
"Pat's service, along with that of every man and woman's service, should never be politicized in a way that divides us. We are too great of a country for that," she wrote, subtly invoking Trump's "make America great again" slogan.
"Those that serve fight for the American ideals of freedom, justice and democracy," she wrote. "They and their families know the cost of that fight. I know the very personal costs in a way I feel acutely every day. The very action of self expression and the freedom to speak from one's heart — no matter those views — is what Pat and so many other Americans have given their lives for. Even if they didn't always agree with those views."
Tillman's statement concluded: "It is my sincere hope that our leaders both understand and learn from the lessons of Pat's life and death, and also those of so many other brave Americans."
This isn't the first time Kaepernick's critics have scrambled to find a white athlete they think is more deserving of praise, nor is it the first time that family members have asked the president and his supporters to please, for the love of God, stop hijacking the memory of their dead relatives.
So far, Trump's cheerleaders have been loath to honor their requests. There's little reason to think they'd start now.
