Why Pat Tillman Was Not a Pro Athlete

Most pro athletes are defined by what they do. Michael Jordan was a basketball player; Wayne Gretzky was a hockey player, etc. Pat Tillman won't be remembered as a football player or as a pro athlete, like Simeon Rice and Ty Law. Pat was a man who played football. And despite what he said, he was not a bum. Pat Tillman will be remembered for what he was. A real man and a real hero.

Nearly a year ago, I wrote a column on the same topic, with even the same title. Now the latest news on Tillman is that he could've ended his service early if he wanted to, but, being the great American he was, he chose to serve another tour to finish his three-year commitment. I think it needs to be pointed out again, since the latest Tillman story is making the rounds, that he was not a professional athlete.

It's not surprising to see that Tillman decided against taking the easy way out to avoid combat, he was just on a different level than most people. He was exceptional and far from the norm, so why can't people leave it at that? Rather than praising Tillman for the man he was or leaving him alone, he is being used by some in the media to vilify other athletes.

"Terrell Owens should be ashamed of himself, whining about money when guys like Pat Tillman give their lives for our country ... Barry Bonds should be ashamed of himself, whining about the media when guys like Pat Tillman give their lives for our country ... Vince Carter should be ashamed of himself, not even trying in a game when Pat Tillman gave his life for his country..." Believe it or not, I've heard all of these statements over the past week either in columns, TV shows, or sports radio, and I just don't get it.

First, I don't think he should be lumped in with other pro athletes, but even more than that, he was an exceptional person. You cannot compare him to the Terrell Owens and the Barry Bonds of the world. They are just on different levels. It's not fair to compare anyone to him. Sure, Warrick Dunn does so much for his community its ridiculous, but Pat Tillman gave us his life. Yeah, Sean Casey is the nicest person in baseball, but he didn't die for my country...

You just can't hold every athlete up to Tillman's standard. If a basketball player scores 30 points in a game, you congratulate him, you don't say, "Michael Jordan would've had 35..." In soccer, if someone scores a goal or two, you pat on them on the back, you don't tell the person they didn't earn their orange slice because Pele would've had three. If someone wins the Daytona 500 ... (never mind, let's keep this to sports). I think you get the picture.

You can't ask everyone to be Pat Tillman and you shouldn't be disgusted if every pro athlete doesn't end their career to enlist in the armed services. That's why Pat is special, because he went so far above and beyond. His selflessness is what made it newsworthy, he didn't join to make other people look bad.

There is no doubt that his story is a great one and certainly refreshing with the current black eyes that have hit the sports world, but it accomplishes nothing to try and compare the situation to any other. Instead of focusing on how other people aren't Pat Tillman, let's focus on how great Pat was and what he did for our country.

Terrell Owens isn't Pat Tillman and never will be. Barry Bonds will never be Pat Tillman. Even Sean Casey won't be Pat Tillman and I can live with that, because I'm just grateful that we got to have a Pat Tillman in the first place.

Mark Chalifoux is also a weekly columnist for SportsFan Magazine. His columns appear every Tuesday on Sports Central. You can e-mail Mark at [email protected].