What Should Tillman’s Death Really Mean?

Many have said that the death of Pat Tillman put a large helping of reality on everyone’s plate, reminding us, at the same time, of the unreality, the frivolity of organized sport.

Let us note, however, that frivolity is the point of sport. Sport serves as an entertainment and a distraction from the reality of everyday life.

Those who are slapped hardest in the face by Tillman’s death are those who lose themselves in sport’s inanities and confuse its issues with those of any real importance.

Skip Nevell

Los Angeles

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Contrary to Chuck Freeman’s letter of April 24, the lesson of Pat Tillman’s death in Afghanistan is not that we should “stop referring to athletes as warriors” but that we should stop electing presidents who send our boys to war as though it were no more than a Saturday afternoon game.

Ronni Kern

Santa Monica

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As a 10-year veteran of the NFL, I have become more and more disenchanted with the product, or the players that represent the product. The self-promotion of a tackle, first down, touchdown or sack has become a standard of the game. To me it is debasing and infantile for a player to celebrate to extremes for what he has been paid to do.

And then comes Pat Tillman. Here is a young man who, without grandstanding, did what he thought was his obligation. Everyone, including the NFL headquarters, should take note of what is truly important. Pat showed us what it is to be a real hero. I think his moral clarity and devotion to what is important in life should be the model for all of us, including the NFL and its players.

Jon Arnett

Palos Verdes Estates