Celebrated author and Nation magazine sports editor Dave Zirin tackles the myth that the NFL was somehow free of politics before Colin Kaepernick and other Black NFL players took a knee.
Patrick Daniel "Pat" Tillman Jr. was an American professional football player who left his career with the NFL to enlist in the United States Army in June 2002 following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. He joined the Army Rangers and served several tours in combat before he was killed in the mountains of Afghanistan. The Army initially reported that Tillman had been killed by enemy fire, but the actual cause of his death was later revealed to be from friendly fire. In 2007, the Pentagon released a report ruling Pat Tillman's death as accidental. Tillman was posthumously awarded Purple Heart and Silver Star medals.