Mary Tillman has a message for the National Football League: Help me find out what happened to my son.
Tillman's death was mourned coast to coast, and the public and his family were told by the Pentagon that he died a "warrior's death" charging up a hill, urging on his fellow Rangers. His funeral was nationally televised, and Arizona Sen. John McCain, now the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, was among those delivering eulogies. Yet the circumstances of his death turned out to be an obscene hoax. Tillman was, in fact, killed by friendly fire.
The NFL has seized on Pat Tillman as another way to connect with the red, white and blue sports fan. Earlier this year, former Commissioner Paul Tagliabue brought together the NFL and the United Service Organizations to build the Pat Tillman USO Center at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. And the league just opened an exhibit dedicated to Tillman at its Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
Unfortunately, it doesn't appear the NFL wants to play ball with the Tillman family.
Meanwhile, 20 veterans who saw combat in Iraq and Afghanistan took the extraordinary step last August of writing a letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, asking his help in securing the release of the requested documents. Unfortunately, the league has not responded to Mary Tillman or the veterans. Read on...
