Meghan Markle may have pulled strings using her A-list contacts to secure Prince Harry’s controversial ESPY Award nod, a royal commentator has claimed.
There has been controversy around Prince Harry being nominated for the Pat Tillman Award in the ESPY Awards.
“The Pat Tillman Award is like a very prestigious honour, it honours a former NFL player who left the sport to go and fight in Afghanistan in 9/11 and fortunately he died in combat,” says SkyNews.com.au Digital Reporter Reilly Sullivan.
“So certainly there’s a sombre aspect to it, but it’s really given to people who do significant things in the charity world and I think that for Harry I mean he’s getting it in recognition of Invictus.
“But certainly some people have come out – Piers Morgan was one, even family members of Pat Tillman said they didn’t think it was appropriate that Harry’s getting the award.”
Harry, 39, will receive the Pat Tillman Award for Service at this year’s ESPY Sports Awards on July 11 in recognition of his Invictus Games foundation.
The Duke of Sussex is one of three recipients receiving the gong this year – which is named in honour of late NFL player and U.S. Army Ranger Pat Tillman and handed out by sports cable broadcaster ESPN.
The late soldier’s mother Mary Tillman slammed ESPN for honouring the Duke of Sussex and pointed out that there “more fitting” recipients for the award.
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Harry will receive the Pat Tillman award at the ESPYs this week. Picture: Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation.
“I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award,” she told British newspaper the Daily Mail last week.
“There are individuals working in the veteran community that are doing tremendous things to assist veterans.”
On Saturday, British newspaper editor and royal commentator Charlotte Griffiths joined the chorus of calls for ESPN to rescind the honour and alleged Meghan Markle may have stepped in to secure the award for Harry.
“This is actually very serious,” Ms Griffiths told GB News on Saturday.
The award is named in honour of late NFL player and war veteran Pat Tillman. Picture: Plus via Williamson Stealth Media Solutions.
“There’s a grieving mother involved and (Mary Tillman) said: ‘Look, I don’t know if you’re filming your Netflix documentary, but you can’t just make life about promoting yourself because sometimes there’s a serious message behind these events that you attend.’”
The insider also suggested that Meghan herself may have pulled strings to convince ESPN to give Harry the award via the Duchess of Sussex’s friendship with tennis star Serena Williams.
“Serena Williams is presenting the award and she’s a very good friend of Meghan Markle,” she said.
“I have to think, I have to wonder if Meghan’s got her fingerprints on this.”
Charlotte Griffiths suspects Meghan pulled strings to secure the award for Harry via her close friend (and ESPY host) Serena Williams. Picture by Daniele Venturelli/WireImage.
The furore is not the first time ESPN has copped criticism for its choice of recipients, who sometimes have little tangible connection to the world of sports.
In 2015, organisers raised eyebrows over their decision to present the Arthur Ashe Courage Award to 1976 Olympian turned reality star Caitlyn Jenner shortly after her gender transition.
The Sussexes have amassed an impressive trophy case over the past four years despite largely devoting their time to commercial ventures with Netflix and Spotify and Harry’s memoir Spare.
Among the honours, Harry and Meghan have also received a “President’s Award” by Black civil rights organisation NAACP and a “Ripple of Hope Award” from the prestigious Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organisation.