Last Thursday, July 11th, Prince Harry officially accepted the Tillman Award at the ESPYs ceremony with a powerful speech over the objections of Mary Tillman, the mother of the late soldier who inspired the award.
“There are recipients that are far more fitting“, said Mrs. Tillman, who was radically opposed to the Duke of Sussex receiving the award, saying, “These individuals do not have the money, resources, connections or privilege that Prince Harry has. I feel that those types of individuals should be recognized“.
Despite that objection, Prince Harry appeared at the ceremony as the recipient of the award and shared a speech claiming, “The truth is, I stand here not as Prince Harry, Pat Tillman award recipient, but rather a voice on behalf of the Invictus Games Foundation and the thousands of veterans and service personnel from over 20 nations who have made the Invictus Games a reality“.
Prince Harry’s acceptance speech for the Patt Tillman Award for Service is worth 5 min of your time. There is no doubt that he is worthy of this award and no doubt that what he is doing is changing lives for the better. pic.twitter.com/bqUsM6lYZE
— Robert Griffin III (@RGIII) July 12, 2024
The Duke added, “This award belongs to them. Not to me“, and in reference to Mrs. Tillman’s opposition, he said, “The bond between a mother and son is eternal and transcends even the greatest losses“, accepting that he understands her reasons and that he himself has been in that position.
