‘Pat Tillman gave up everything’: Why did Doug Gottleib drag his name into the Kyrie Irving controversy?
Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving recently led a conference call with over 80 fellow NBA players, including Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Donovan Mitchell, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. Irving, who recently underwent shoulder surgery in February and will reportedly miss the rest of the season, expressed his opposition to the league's plan to resume the 2019-20 season in Orlando, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
Reportedly, Kyrie said on the call: "I don’t support going into Orlando. I’m not with the systematic racism and the bulls**t. Something smells a little fishy," and added, "I’m willing to give up everything I have (for social reform)." Soon after, American basketball analyst and sports talk radio host Doug Gottlieb then tweeted about the report and wrote, "Pat Tillman gave up everything."
A professional football player in the National Football League (NFL), Patrick Daniel Tillman joined the United States Army in June 2002 in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. He left his successful football career with the Arizona Cardinals and was eventually killed in Afghanistan in 2004. The reason for his death is still unknown. While some reports said that he was shot by enemy forces during an ambush, a major scandal erupted when reports said that he may have been killed by friendly fire and that the Army commanders and members of the Bush administration covered it up. His service in Iraq and Afghanistan drew national attention.
No sooner did Doug bring up his name, he stirred quite a controversy and was slammed for his comment. TV host Katie Nolan posted, "Doug buddy what point are you even trying to make here?" "This is unreal. Pat Tillman is an American hero and is somehow getting roasted because you made a valid point," one tweet said and another read, "So maybe we can change the system that sent Pat Tillman to an unwinnable war, got him killed by his own troops, and covered up the circumstances of his death."
Calling it dumb, one said, "Holy Christ this is dumb. Wow," and TV writer Dave Schilling wrote, "The implication here is that you won’t be satisfied until Kyrie Irving dies." Seeing the backlash, Doug responded, "Jeezus? How morbid are you! What is wrong with you? I want Kyrie and KD to play. That is where they have the most influence on people.. and if they don’t want to play, they don’t have to, but why limit someone else’s opportunities? And why claim you would give up your career?"
However, people continued to criticize him. "This is a bad tweet," one said and another wrote, "And was Killed by a American soldier. Stop using Pat Tillman as an example. Friendly Fire." Another tweet read, "Your ability to tweet stupidity is unrivaled."