Prince Harry has come under fire in the US after being nominated for a prestigious award that some believe he doesn’t deserve.

Pat McAfee, a sports analyst and former NFL punter, criticised the ESPY Awards for nominating the Duke of Sussex for the Pat Tillman Award for Service.

This award is meant for someone with a strong connection to sports who has served others in a way that honours the legacy of Pat Tillman, a former NFL player and US Army Ranger who was killed in action in Afghanistan.

Some argued that the nomination of Prince Harry does not align with the award’s intended purpose ( Image: (Image: Getty))
McAfee argued that Prince Harry’s nomination does not fit with the award’s intended purpose and questioned the selection process. “A lot of conversation about Pat Tillman’s name,” McAfee said. “American hero … Now there’s an award named after him, as there should be in the sports world because that is somebody who is the definition of selfless.”, reports the Express.

“It’s going to Prince Harry, who I don’t even think is a prince anymore,” he added, referring to Harry’s departure from Royal duties. Boston Connor, McAfee’s show co-host, labelled Prince Harry’s nomination as “probably the most embarrassing thing I’ve seen in my entire life”.

McAfee questioned whether the ESPY Awards’ committee had thoroughly researched its candidates. According to the ESPY Awards’ process, winners are chosen through global online fan voting from candidates selected by the ESPY Select Nominating Committee.

McAfee further criticised this process, suggesting it lacked due diligence. “When you do something like this, you know the immediate reaction from humans and sports fans and like people with common sense and brains is going to be like: ‘Hey, don’t be putting our f—ing guy with that guy,’” McAfee said, referring to Prince Harry.

McAfee also commented on Prince Harry’s contributions, such as founding the Invictus Games and serving in the British Army, but suggested these achievements might not align with the spirit of the Pat Tillman Award.

“I don’t know anything about him except for the South Park episode and what I’ve learned from The Crown,” McAfee admitted. “But did his people know like ‘you publicly put me up for this award. You’re just asking basically every person that considers themselves American and saying ‘this is bulls—.’”.

Ty Schmitt, another member of McAfee’s on-air team, further criticised the ESPYS, calling the awards “a gimmick” and arguing that numerous deserving American military members were overlooked.

“There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of people who they could have found who could have benefitted from this award. But instead let’s give it to Prince Harry,” he said.

McAfee suggested that the ESPY Awards create a new category specifically for Prince Harry. “How about it’s like ESPY for Royal Family member who doesn’t want to be called ‘Royal Family member’ who loves sports,” he jested.

The backlash underscores the ongoing controversy surrounding the criteria and suitability of award nominations, particularly those named after respected individuals like Pat Tillman.