Pat Tillman’s Cleats on Ebay for $3.2m
Pat Tillman’s autographed cleats have just popped up on eBay for a cool $3.2 million, prompting a predictable tidal wave of outrage. But they do have free shipping, which you think would calm people down.
If Tillman’s name is unfamiliar to you, his story is an interesting one. He was an Arizona Cardinals safety who rejected a $3 million-plus contract from the Cardinals and left his newlywed bride to join the U.S. Army in Afghanistan after the September 11th attacks. His service in Afghanistan ended tragically, when he was killed in a friendly fire accident in 2004, aged just 27.
And now his cleats, complete with mud and Tillman’s autograph in black Sharpie, are on eBay with a seven-figure price that the seller is refusing to budge on. These were worn by the young safety in a regular season game against the Baltimore Ravens in 2000 – he even made an interception in that game.
I’m sort of torn on this. People sell sports memorabilia all the time, including stuff that has belonged to dead people. And yes, people sell the possessions of sportsmen and sportswomen who were killed in horrible circumstances. So the whole ‘OMG WAR HERO!!!!11!’ line is sort of irrelevant in my eyes. Hey, Tillman was undoubtedly a brave bloke with way bigger cojones than most, me included. I admire that. But let’s not allow that to cloud our view here. Courageous as he was, Tillman’s not the first sportsman to be killed in a war and then have his stuff sold at auction.
HOWEVER (yeah, I’m flip-flopping a lot on this one), the whole situation gets pretty damn ghoulish when you insist on a seven-figure sum, because it’s so blatantly a cash-in on Tillman’s circumstances – particularly if you don’t intend to give a good chunk of the winning bid to a worthy cause.
I’m sure others have opinions on this anyway. Let me know down there in the comments.
