A Pat Tillman statue outside University of Phoenix Stadium. (USA TODAY Sports Images)

On the day ESPN ran a special Outside the Lines about the battlefield death of former Arizona Cardinals safety Pat Tillman, Sunday Night Football analyst Cris Collinsworth tweeted his belief that Tillman should be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

It’s a strong take from Collinsworth. No one doubts Tillman’s heroism and the NFL has done an admirable job of honoring Tillman’s memory. Even though it’s not discussed much, is a berth in Canton the next logical step?

(USA TODAY Sports Images)

In his Monday Morning Quarterback column, Peter King thoughtfully lays out a counterargument.

Should all 26 NFL players who have died in service to our country—either in World War I, Vietnam or Afghanistan—be enshrined in Canton? Is one NFL player’s service worth more than others’? Should every player who served in wartime be enshrined, or put in a wing of the Hall of Fame? […] And what about others who played football and went on to great things? Byron “Whizzer” White, a running back in the NFL, went on to be a Supreme Court justice. Jack Kemp quarterbacked the Bills, then became a nine-term Congressman and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Should they be in?

I think football players and coaches and executives should be in the Hall of Fame for what they accomplish as football players and coaches and executives, and not for anything else.

Cris Collinsworth. (USA TODAY Sports Images)

King’s argument is essentially that if you let in Tillman, you have to let in others. Though it’s a good point, I side with Collinsworth. Tillman belongs in the Hall of Fame. His service isn’t worth more than others, as King notes, but its timing, meaning and the modern-day sacrifice it took make Tillman a heroic and relatable hero to the new generation of football fans. One can be an NFL great without proving it on the field.

But any debate would be beneath the legacy of Tillman. He’s not ignored in Canton either, as there’s a large display saluting him and other veterans. Induction or not, the memory of Pat Tillman won’t fade.

(USA TODAY Sports Images)