ESPN Sports Reporters lets loose on Tillman story

[mouse7]

Of several points raised...

- Tillman at least had a chance to pursue his football dream. "20 year olds from the Bronx" that die in combat don't get that chance.

- White House that bans coffin photos from publication "better not" try to score political points with Tillman death.

- Pat Tillman would be "mortified" by the coverage of his passing.

[KharmaTrain]

1. Wow...Reality In Jockworld???

I figure the NFL (National Fascist League) will do a tribute to Tillman on the National Mall next summer (sponsored by Nike & Budweiser).

Tillman is the exception, not the rule...a man who should be honored for his own personal accomplishment and not used as a propaganda tool by the regime or its war-profiteering backers.

I'm glad someone at ESPN has the decency to put this in a fairer perspective.

[jean]

2. This attitude needs to percolate through to the rest of sportscaster-dom

[VolcanoJen]

3. "The Sports Reporters" is an excellent show.

Non-sports fans may also be surprised to learn that some of the best writing being done today, especially in otherwise-whorish newspapers, is by sportswriters.

Keith Olbermann is another good example of a former sports guy who has become a truly excellent anchor/journalist.

[mouse7]

5. I was watching Lupica hoping he might try news

Mike Lupica was making some awesome points, and arguing them better than almost everyone in the news media.... and he sounded very progressive.

[fujiyama]

7. Your right

Mitch Albom is (or was - haven't read any of his columns in a while), pretty critical of Bush and the rightwingers, and he was a sports writer.

[mouse7]

15. Ali is almost universally recognized by sports media as a hero

I would be willing to bet that the opinion news reporters have of Muhammad Ali is far lower than among sports reporters.

This is a good example of where these guys are in their thinking.

[mmonk]

4. As someone that attends NFL games

and as someone that grew tired of being fed massive doses of patriotism and military flyovers every Sunday, maybe they will someday be more reflective about the consequences of war.

[ScreamingMeemie]

6. Good for him on the last two points. I still personally give Tillman

a lot of credit for giving up that dream, misguided as the choice was. :hi:

[wryter2000]

9. Tillman deserves a lot of credit

He also did it to be with his brother. No question he was a brave young man who sacrificed a lot for what he believed in. I'm just disgusted at how he's being used. Glad to hear some brave journalists are speaking out.

[Christ was Socialist]

11. I always wondered if it wan't a wee bit selfish

Because he had a wife and kid. He knew the risk but still chose to. But i grew up with a lot of gang members, and was fed the honor thing unremittingly. I don't see how you could put duty or honor above your life and child, now what are they to do? If a father gets a shotgun and blows his brins out on christmas eve, he is the scron of the world, even though he may have been mentally ill. In this world where children lack fathers, I don't see how a parent could make a choice like that. To me it sounds like, i feel this way, and shall do this, if i die, oh well, i died defending my country. I'm not judging pat but here goes another american child with a single biological parent. I'd love for them to do bios on the kid(s) at 25. I know vietnam vet kids are 3x more likely to kill themselves and 180,000 nam vets have commited suicide since the end.

[wryter2000]

8. Hokey smoke

Honesty. Who woulda thunk?

[supercrash]

10. Tillman is a non story

He had the choice to stay in the US...or go fight a unjust war and kill innocent people

Fuck em, he reaped what he sowed

This really is a non story, so what if the guy could lift alot of weight and catch a ball and run away with it...who fuckin cares....?...Can Tillman tell the differenec between the truth and a lie ? ...I really don't think so, and it cost him his life, he fought and died for a LIE

Not the best way to go, I think he looks foolish

[VolcanoJen]

12. Tillman enlisted to fight in Afghanistan

He enlisted in the spring of 2002, long before the "March to War" in Iraq was actually revealed to the American people.

[supercrash]

13. ?

Are you saying that this is a story ?

The guy can catch a ball and run with it, so it makes it a story ?

Fuck all that

[jobycom]

16. Yes, it's a story

Ther fact that our soldier are dying over there is a story. Bush et al are hiding the bodies and the faces of the prices of their games. They can't hide Tillman's face, because he was famous as a football player (for the record, his job wasn't to catch or run with a ball, mostly. He was defense.). People are starting to say "Yeah, it's sad he died, but look at the other thousand or so who have died. Aren't they just as sad?" That's how awareness begins to change.

Tillman may become the poster child for Bush's invasions for a time. He may also become the poster child of Bush's failures, even his atrocities. ANYTHING which draws attention to the reality of death in our wars is a story, and needs to be told LOUDER, not ridiculed.

Now, one wonders if they will ever find a way to put a face on the victims of our war, the quarter million or so we have killed between our two invasions. I wonder how many of them were famous football stars, or singers, or actors, or whatever?

[supercrash]

17. Hey...

The guy isn't that bright...He signed up for Bush's war on terror...he gets sent to Iraq

He should have researched Bush and his agenda before making such a serious decision

He wanted to fight the terrorists in Afghanistan that attacked the USA on 9-11 ...he ended up in Iraq fighting innocent people , Is that what he had in mind ?

[VolcanoJen]

19. Tillman died in Afghanistan. Not Iraq.

He did fight in both theaters, but lost his life in Afghanistan.

You're free to have your opinion, of course, but I think it's important to straighten out some of your facts.

[jobycom]

14. He had the courage to go in someone else's place

The way I see it, if he didn't go, someone else would have been sent anyway. He had enough courage and heroism to take that fate on himself, rather than letting others die for him. Its the type of courage we should all praise, because it demonstrates the type of courage Bush and his entire administration never had.

Blame the leaders, not the victims.

[riverwalker]

18. Savage is telling kids to enlist and be like Tillman

on his show yesterday I heard him challenging young people to be "more like Tillman and run down to the nearest recruiting office and sign up". The sad thing is, many will do it.

[supercrash]

20. And if they do...

Fuck em..

They know they are going to Iraq or Iran...they know we are waging war based on lies, they know their fighting and serving has NOTHING to do with protecting Americans, they know we are killing innocent people, the US is killing the Shia now...the US is filling the mass graves now....the US is now refusing to let UN inspectors in the country

If they still want to serve then FUCK EM...they can fucking die fighting a unjust war

[JAbuchan08]

21. Saying "fuck 'em" is not an option,

Bush and the Republican party have written these kids off. Tillman and others like him are just cannon fodder to the GOP. We don't write them off and they might come back as John Kerrys. That's the thing about being a liberal. Ya don't just write people off.