Taylor vs. Tillman

ESPN’s “Uni Watch” reviews the history of the uniform memorial to a deceased individual in the wake of the Sean Taylor murder and the “21” being worn by NFL teams for the rest of the season. Interestingly, he notes the protest of several Giants who were teammates of Pat Tillman and believed that Taylor should not be getting a longer league tribute than former NFL star Pat Tillman who left the NFL to enlist with the Army Rangers and was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2004. Is the NFL trying to send a larger message? That it is better, from the league’s point of view, if you are an active player who is murdered in your home by a bunch of street thugs rather than a former player who joins the US Armed Forces to defend your country but is killed in a controversial friendly fire incident?