Pat McAfee, a sports analyst and former NFL punter, has criticised the ESPY Awards for nominating Prince Harry for the Pat Tillman Award.
This award is meant to honour individuals with a significant connection to sports who have served others in a way that reflects Pat Tillman’s legacy, a former NFL player and US Army Ranger who was killed in action in Afghanistan.
On ‘The Pat McAfee Show’, McAfee argued that Prince Harry’s nomination did not align with the award’s purpose, questioning the selection process. “A lot of conversation about Pat Tillman’s name,” McAfee said. “American hero … Now there’s an award named after him, as there should be in the sports world because that is somebody who is the definition of selfless.”
“It’s going to Prince Harry, who I don’t even think is a prince anymore,” he added, referring to Harry’s departure from Royal duties. Co-host Boston Connor described the nomination as “probably the most embarrassing thing I’ve seen in my entire life”.
McAfee questioned whether the ESPY Awards’ committee had thoroughly researched its candidates, noting that winners are chosen through global online fan voting from candidates selected by the ESPY Select Nominating Committee. He criticised the process, suggesting it lacked thoroughness: “When you do something like this, you know the immediate reaction from humans and sports fans and like people with common sense and brains is going to be like: ‘Hey, don’t be putting our f—ing guy with that guy,'” McAfee said, referring to Prince Harry.
McAfee acknowledged Prince Harry’s contributions, such as founding the Invictus Games and serving in the British Army, but suggested these achievements might not align with the spirit of the Pat Tillman Award. “I don’t know anything about him except for the South Park episode and what I’ve learned from The Crown,” McAfee admitted. “But did his people know like ‘you publicly put me up for this award. You’re just asking basically every person that considers themselves American and saying ‘this is bulls***.'”
McAfee humorously suggested that the ESPY Awards create a new category specifically for Prince Harry. “How about it’s like ESPY for Royal Family member who doesn’t want to be called ‘Royal Family member’ who loves sports,” he jested.
The backlash underscores ongoing concerns about the criteria and suitability of award nominations, particularly those named after respected individuals like Pat Tillman.
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