Prince Harry defended as petition against the prince reaches 50,000 signatures

Prince Harry has been defended by the American sporting network ESPN after a petition against his receipt of an award for veterans reached 50,000 signatures.

There has been significant controversy over the decision to give the Duke of Sussex the Pat Tillman Award for his work with the Invictus Games, which celebrates the sporting achievements of wounded, sick and injured service people.

The award is named after the late Pat Tillman, a former professional American footballer, who gave up his work in the sport to join the armed forces in the wake of 9/11.

It is given to individuals with a “strong connection to sports” who have similarly served their country. Tillman was killed in Afghanistan, where Harry also severed, in 2004.

But Tillman’s mother, Mary, believes that there are more deserving recipients of the ESPY Award than Harry, 39, who she described as “controversial and divisive”.

Her opinion has been echoed by those who have signed a Change.org petition, which is urging ESPN to “rethink” its decision to give him the prince the award.

The sporting network has now defended its decision in a statement and praised the “incredible” work Harry has done with the Invictus Games, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.

A spokesperson told Sky News : “ESPN, with the support of the Tillman Foundation, is honouring Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, specifically for the work of The Invictus Games Foundation as it celebrates its 10th year promoting healing through the power of sport for military service members and veterans around the world.

“While we understand not everyone will agree with all honorees selected for any award, The Invictus Games Foundation does incredible work and ESPN believes this is a cause worth celebrating.”

This comes after Mary Tillman told the Daily Mail that she believes there are several “more fitting” recipients.

“I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award,” she said. “There are recipients that are far more fitting. There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans.”

“These individuals do not have the money, resources, connections or privilege that Prince Harry has. I feel that those types of individuals should be recognised.”

As well as the 50,000 people who have signed the petition, Mary’s opinion was echoed by American sports analyst Pat MacAfee, who said ESPN was “trying to p*ss people off” by giving Harry the award.

“It’s going to Prince Harry, who I don’t even think is a Prince anymore, right? He said don’t call me that? See, why does the ESPYs do this s**t?” McAfee questioned on his talk show.

“This is like actually the most embarrassing thing I’ve seen in my entire life.”

The Independent has reached out to ESPN for further comment.