Isn't it about time... [Archive] - Front Office Football Central

Fritz

03-20-2003, 10:45 AM

Ah,

Here we go

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/football/pro/dolphins/sfl-tillman20mar20,0,7754320.story?coll=sfla%2Ddolphins%2Dfront

Less than a year after giving up a lucrative NFL career to serve his country, former Arizona Cardinal safety Pat Tillman has become an Army Ranger and has been deployed, presumably to the Middle East.

Tillman and his brother, Kevin, a former minor league baseball player, are now part of the 75th Ranger Regiment, comprising three battalions and 2,300 men. The Tillmans had been stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash., but were deployed within the last two weeks. Even relatives do not know specifically where they are.

"They don't want recognition separate from their peers," said their father, Patrick. "It's a pretty elite crowd they're running with. All of those guys are stand-up guys. I don't think you can pick one out and say one's better than another."

Pat Tillman, 26, who walked away from a contract that would have paid him $3.6 million over three seasons, set a Cardinals record in 2000 with 145 tackles. He is believed to be the first NFL regular since World War II to voluntarily leave the game for military service. His new job pays between $1,022 and $1,433 a month.

Halfway through Arizona's 2002 season, Tillman had completed his Ranger training. At graduation, he was chosen as the flag bearer for his unit, B Company of the 1st Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment.

"It's a very tightly knit brotherhood of soldiers," said Carol Darby, spokeswoman for the Army Special Operations command. "In the Ranger regiment, you get a broad group of individuals. There has been a Harvard graduate, people from very moneyed backgrounds. For whatever reasons, they wanted to be associated with the Ranger community and the Ranger brotherhood."

Sam Farmer writes for the Los Angeles Times, a member of the Tribune Co. newspaper family. Wire services contributed to this report.

ahbrady

03-20-2003, 10:56 AM

I'm glad to hear an update. I wish that this story was heard by more people. I don't think very many people that aren't big sports fans have heard this, and I think it is one of the greatest stories I've ever heard. When I first read about it in SI right after he decided to quit football I really thought that should have been the cover. I wish the Tillmans and all our other soldiers the best.