Can more be done to honor Tillman?
By Cris Collinsworth
Special to NFL.com
(Oct. 7, 2004) -- Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer was denied permission to continue wearing the Pat Tillman memorial patch on his helmet, causing a lot of discussion as to why the league would not allow Plummer -- who played with Tillman at Arizona State and with the Arizona Cardinals -- to honor his longtime friend.
NFL vice president of public relations Greg Aiello told me that it comes down to the strict enforcement of the uniform code. While it seems silly to deny Plummer's request, the league does not want to give players the opportunity to pay tribute to someone at the individual's discretion.
A lot of this probably goes back to former Bears quarterback Jim McMahon, who made a spectacle of the league's uniform policy during Chicago's Super Bowl season in 1985. The image of McMahon wearing a Rozelle headband likely still haunts the league and has led to a strict enforcement policy that prohibits armbands and the like.
I agree with the basic premise, the league should maintain a high standard. I even understand the league's stance with Plummer. Once you let one player express his individuality, then you open the door to all sorts of abuses. In law school, they talk about bad cases making bad law. I'm sure the league didn't want to set a bad precedent with this noble request.
So I agree that one player, in this case Jake Plummer, should not be allowed to individually honor Tillman, as long as (you knew there was a catch) the NFL does something more to permanently honor perhaps the most historically significant player the league will ever know.
If you look at some of the people the NFL has named trophies and awards after -- names like Pete Rozelle, Vince Lombardi and Walter Payton -- would you list any of those great men ahead of Pat Tillman? I don't want to downplay the significance of any of those men, they were all important to the league. But history will remember Tillman in a much different light.
The idea that a man at the height of his career could walk away from the financial security and lifestyle that he enjoyed so that he could go and fight alongside his brothers -- and in this case his blood brother -- is one of the most compelling stories ever told.
Sept. 11 touched the entire nation, but how many millionaires dropped their way of life to defend our freedom? We will never really know what drove him to join one of the most dangerous units in the military, the Army Rangers. Tillman refused to speak to the media after he made his decision, but those close to him say that he felt that he owed a duty to his country.
I never had the opportunity to meet Tillman, but I cherish my connection with him as a former player. I was moved by the NFL's league-wide tributes to Tillman in Week 2. There were many wonderful moments around the league.
But I still don't think we've done enough. There should be a major tribute to Tillman at this year's Super Bowl. There should be a permanent award in Tillman's honor.
I hope that his story is repeated for generations to come. I am not sure how current and former players will be remembered once their records have faded, but I am sure there is one man whose heroic deeds will stand the test of time. Let us not stand so close to history that we fail to recognize the greatest the NFL has ever put forward. Pat Tillman has set a new standard, and I am confident that Pete Rozelle, Vince Lombardi and Walter Payton would all agree on that.
By Cris Collinsworth
Special to NFL.com
(Oct. 7, 2004) -- Denver Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer was denied permission to continue wearing the Pat Tillman memorial patch on his helmet, causing a lot of discussion as to why the league would not allow Plummer -- who played with Tillman at Arizona State and with the Arizona Cardinals -- to honor his longtime friend.
NFL vice president of public relations Greg Aiello told me that it comes down to the strict enforcement of the uniform code. While it seems silly to deny Plummer's request, the league does not want to give players the opportunity to pay tribute to someone at the individual's discretion.
A lot of this probably goes back to former Bears quarterback Jim McMahon, who made a spectacle of the league's uniform policy during Chicago's Super Bowl season in 1985. The image of McMahon wearing a Rozelle headband likely still haunts the league and has led to a strict enforcement policy that prohibits armbands and the like.
I agree with the basic premise, the league should maintain a high standard. I even understand the league's stance with Plummer. Once you let one player express his individuality, then you open the door to all sorts of abuses. In law school, they talk about bad cases making bad law. I'm sure the league didn't want to set a bad precedent with this noble request.
So I agree that one player, in this case Jake Plummer, should not be allowed to individually honor Tillman, as long as (you knew there was a catch) the NFL does something more to permanently honor perhaps the most historically significant player the league will ever know.
If you look at some of the people the NFL has named trophies and awards after -- names like Pete Rozelle, Vince Lombardi and Walter Payton -- would you list any of those great men ahead of Pat Tillman? I don't want to downplay the significance of any of those men, they were all important to the league. But history will remember Tillman in a much different light.
The idea that a man at the height of his career could walk away from the financial security and lifestyle that he enjoyed so that he could go and fight alongside his brothers -- and in this case his blood brother -- is one of the most compelling stories ever told.
Sept. 11 touched the entire nation, but how many millionaires dropped their way of life to defend our freedom? We will never really know what drove him to join one of the most dangerous units in the military, the Army Rangers. Tillman refused to speak to the media after he made his decision, but those close to him say that he felt that he owed a duty to his country.
I never had the opportunity to meet Tillman, but I cherish my connection with him as a former player. I was moved by the NFL's league-wide tributes to Tillman in Week 2. There were many wonderful moments around the league.
But I still don't think we've done enough. There should be a major tribute to Tillman at this year's Super Bowl. There should be a permanent award in Tillman's honor.
I hope that his story is repeated for generations to come. I am not sure how current and former players will be remembered once their records have faded, but I am sure there is one man whose heroic deeds will stand the test of time. Let us not stand so close to history that we fail to recognize the greatest the NFL has ever put forward. Pat Tillman has set a new standard, and I am confident that Pete Rozelle, Vince Lombardi and Walter Payton would all agree on that.
