In the Army
Cardinals' Tillman gives up NFL career to serve
country
Posted: Thursday May 23, 2002 8:40 PM
Updated: Friday May 24, 2002 4:43 PM
Pat Tillman has always defied convention. Tom Hauck/Allsport
PHOENIX (AP) -Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman is giving up the NFL for the
Army.
Tillman said Thursday he is enlisting in the Army for three years.
Cardinals coach Dave McGinnis said Tillman, a two-year starter
at free safety, wants to go through boot camp and join the elite
Rangers program with his younger brother, Kevin, an infielder
who spent last year with the Cleveland Indians' organization.
"This is very serious with Pat," McGinnis said. "It's very personal,
and I honor that. I honor the integrity of that. It was not a snap
decision he woke up and made yesterday. This has been an
ongoing process, and he feels very strongly about it."
Tillman, a California native who was married two weeks ago and
returned from a honeymoon in Bora Bora on Monday, talked to
Cardinals owner Bill Bidwill, McGinnis and defensive
coordinator Larry Marmie in separate interviews Wednesday. He
could not be reached for comment.
His agent, Frank Bauer, called the decision consistent with his
client's contemplative, nonmaterialistic nature.
Tillman, an unrestricted free agent, spurned a $9 million, fiveyear offer sheet from the St. Louis Rams in 2001 and allowed a
multiyear deal with the Cardinals to sit on the table this spring
despite Bauer's urging to sign.
"This is very consistent with how he conducts his life," Bauer
said. "Patty is the type of guy who is very smart and very loyal. I
remember when the Rams made their offer, he said, 'No, I want to
stay with the Cardinals. If I have to play for the minimum, I don't
care.' He axed the offer sheet and played another year. But he's
always had a blueprint for what he wants to do. Now everything
else is on the back burner."
Tillman, 25, never tired of football, but felt his hand was forced
by the military's age restriction on entry in special forces units,
Bauer said. The agent said Tillman hopes to resume his NFL
career when his enlistment is up.
Newlywed Marie Tillman supports her husband's decision to leave
one rugged profession for a more dangerous one, Bauer said.
The 5-foot-11, 200-pound Tillman has always been distinguished
by his appetite for rugged play and intelligence. As an undersized
linebacker at Arizona State, he was the Pac-10's defensive player
of the year in 1997.
He warmed up for last year's training camp by competing in a
70.2-mile triathlon in June, and he finished his fourth NFL year
with 478 career tackles and three interceptions.
As a scholar, Tillman carried a 3.84 grade point average through
college and graduated summa cum laude in 31/2 academic years
with a degree in marketing.
"The guy has got something to him, and that's why I wanted him
on the team all these years," McGinnis said.