Marie Tillman, the widow of Pat Tillman, has asked that her war hero husband’s service not be politicized, following President Donald Trump's retweet of a post suggesting that the former football star's military service was a reason to boycott the NFL.
Pat Tillman quit the NFL to join the Army after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004, USA Today noted.
Marie Tillman spoke out on Monday night, while Pat Tillman's former team, the Arizona Cardinals, played the Dallas Cowboys on "Monday Night Football," CNN reported.
Trump retweeted on his Twitter account this post that used Tillman's picture and urged fans to boycott the NFL:
Marie Tillman said her late husband's memory "should never be politicized in a way that divides us," per CNN.
"… I know the very personal costs in a way I feel acutely every day," Marie Tillman said, per CNN. "The very action of self-expression and the freedom to speak from one's heart — no matter those views — is what Pat and so many other Americans have given their lives for. Even if they didn't always agree with those views.”
"It is my sincere hope that our leaders both understand and learn from the lessons of Pat's life and death, and also those of so many other brave Americans," she concluded.
Trump and the NFL has been involved in an escalating war of words since the president suggested Friday during a rally in Alabama that NFL owners should fire players who take a knee or protest during the national anthem.
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