max Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 Best of luck to Jeremy Staat. Wishing him a safe return home after his service in Iraq. HONOLULU (AP) — A former NFL player who joined the Marines and was motivated by college roommate Pat Tillman, who died in Afghanistan, was heading for the war himself Tuesday night. Lance Cpl. Jeremy Staat, a former defensive lineman for the Pittsburgh Steelers and St. Louis Rams who had been playing Arena Football, was one of 300 Marines in the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment being deployed from Kaneohe Bay. The unit is expected to be in Iraq for seven months. "The way I look at it, we're spreading freedom, and you have to support the troops and you have to support the war," Staat, 29, told KITV in Honolulu on Tuesday as he prepared to leave from Hawaii. "You can't just tell some Marine who just lost his buddy that we supported you but not the war, because in that case you're basically saying that Marine, his buddy, just died for nothing. We're one team." Tillman, who played defensive back for the Arizona Cardinals, was killed by friendly fire near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in April 2004. The Defense Department is investigating allegations of a coverup, including the Army's failure to tell Tillman's family for several weeks that he had been killed by gunfire from his fellow Army Rangers, not by enemy fire, as they initially were told. Tillman gave up a $1.2 million NFL contract to join the Army Rangers. Staat said he felt compelled to join the military after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but Tillman, who was his roommate at Arizona State, advised him to stay with professional football until he qualified for retirement benefits. "I felt there is more to life than just a game," Staat said, adding that Tillman's death helped motivate him to enlist. Staat played for the Steelers from 1998-2000, and played two games with the Rams in 2003. He was playing for the Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League before being put on the league's suspended list. He graduated from the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot in March 2006. To enlist, the 6-foot-5 Staat said last year he dropped from 310 to 260 pounds. He said three months of boot camp training gave him a deeper appreciation for team camaraderie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dabuffbills Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 hope he comes home safe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yo mama Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 You gotta admire the courage of his conviction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skins Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 This kind of political thread makes me sik. This should be deleted immediately like all the Pat Tillman threads which were deleted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clubfoothead Posted March 23, 2007 Share Posted March 23, 2007 Tillman advises him to do it after he qualifies for retirement benefits from the NFL but he holds-off until after being suspended from Arena football? Convictions kick in at odd times for some people. "The way I look at it, we're spreading freedom, and you have to support the troops and you have to support the war," Staat, 29, told KITV in Honolulu on Tuesday as he prepared to leave from Hawaii. "You can't just tell some Marine who just lost his buddy that we supported you but not the war, because in that case you're basically saying that Marine, his buddy, just died for nothing. We're one team." If he live's I'm sure he'll donate 75% of the movie rights to one of the nobel causes listed in my sig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.