Brett Favre caught major backlash last week when he spoke with TMZ Sports about Colin Kaepernick and he seemingly compared the former 49ers quarterback to former NFL safety Pat Tillman, who left the league to join the Army. Tillman was killed in April 2004 as a result of friendly fire.
“It’s not easy for a guy his age — black or white, Hispanic, whatever — to stop something that you’ve always dreamed of doing, and put it on hold, maybe forever, for something that you believe in,” Favre said of Kaepernick. “I can only think of right off the top of my head, Pat Tillman is another guy that did something similar. And, we regard him as a hero. So, I’d assume that hero status will be stamped with Kaepernick as well.”
Following the overwhelming criticism, the Green Bay Packers took to Twitter to clarify his statments.
“Including Pat Tillman’s name in the interview on Colin Kaepernick was not a comparison of the two, but a recognition that they both sidelined their football dreams in pursuit of a cause,” Favre wrote on Twitter. “Pat tragically lost his life, making the ultimate sacrifice, and deserves the highest honor.”
Favre is correct about both Tillman and Kaepernick giving up their careers for a cause they believed in.
Tillman made an ultimate sacrifice when he lost his life to fight for his country.
