According to wire reports, former ASU Sundevil and Arizona Cardinals football player Pat Tillman was killed in combat in Afghanistan on Thursday. He was 27.
Tillman was a member of the 75th Ranger Regiment out of Fort Benning, Ga., serving in southeastern Afghanistan as part of an Army special operations unit.
An unidentified military spokesman told Reuters news service that Tillman was killed during a firefight with anti-coalition forces 25 miles outside the American military base at Khost. Two other American soldiers were injured in the incident.
Tillman reportedly turned down a $3.6 million contract with the Arizona Cardinals to join the Army following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. He joined with his brother, Kevin, who was also serving in Afghanistan at the time of Tillman's death.
At a press conference Friday morning, Cardinals General Counsel Michael Bidwell called Tillman an "outstanding man."
"The announcement of Pat's death was a kick in the gut," Bidwell said. "Everyone who knew him was touched by him."
Cardinals starting center Pete Kendall remembered meeting Tillman before the start of the 2001 season.
"Some of us went to a bar after a pre-season game, and I started to get to know Pat," Kendall said. "When he joined the Army, I kept thinking that I couldn't wait to buy him a beer as soon as he got home."
As a linebacker for ASU, Tillman was named the Pac-10's defensive player of the year in 1997. He had a record 224 tackles during the 2000 season. He graduated from ASU with a degree in marketing.
Several Arizona political figures have issued statements honoring Tillman. A statement on Sen. John McCain's Web site calls Tillman an inspiration.
"Pat Tillman's example, in his unexpected choice of duty to his country over the riches and other comforts of celebrity, and in his humility, is such an inspiration to all of us to reclaim the essential public-spiritedness of Americans that many of us, in low moments, had worried was no longer our common distinguishing trait," the statement reads.
The White House issued a statement praising Tillman's service, and calling him "an inspiration both on and off the football field."
Kevin White, ASU's former athletic director, called Tillman "the ultimate American."
"To me, Pat Tillman is, without question, the biggest 'hero' of my lifetime," White added. "During my tenure at ASU, Pat was often referred to - by many of us - Brave Heart.
"How incredibly ironic, years late, that Pat will go down in the
annals of American history as the quintessential, in every way, brave
heart."
Reach the reporter at kelly.vaughn@asu.edu
