Donald Trump’s executive order to ban immigrants from seven predominantly Muslim countries has been met with wide-ranging acrimony and criticism, including from many figures in the sports world.
One such statement against the executive order came, on Saturday, from Marie Tillman, the widow of Pat Tillman.
Tillman played in the NFL from 1998-2001, and after the September 11 terrorist attacks decided to quit football and enlist in the military. As an Army Ranger, he served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was killed in 2004 in Afghanistan.
On Facebook, his wife wrote that Trump’s executive order is not representative of the country her husband dreamed of, what he served for, or what he died for.
Here’s her full statement, from Facebook:
“In 2002 my husband enlisted in the US Army, he stood up to serve because he believed in the principles on which our country was founded and, recognizing it wasn’t perfect, was passionate about what it could be. Today I am deeply saddened by the news of the executive order banning immigration. This is not the country he dreamed of, not what he served for and not what he died for. Since his death I have embarked on the most meaningful work of my life, supporting the men and women who, like Pat, fight for what this country can be. As I read posts from the community of#TillmanScholars on my Facebook feed I am encouraged; they are exactly as I knew they would be, poised and ready to fight. I am proud of them and proud to stand with them, we’ve got this.”
Marie Tillman is hardly the only person to decry Trump’s executive order, but considering what she has been through, and all her her husband sacrificed, it is certainly one of the most powerful.
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