Sitting courtside during his daughter’s basketball game last January, Charles “Peanut” Tillman had a sobering realization. It was shortly after he’d received a text summoning him and his colleagues to an ICE raid. Torn between his own principles and the obligations his job forced on him, the former Chicago Bears legend-turned-FBI agent, however, decided he’d rather defy President Donald Trump. And the rationale was simple…

“It was, ‘We need everybody outside, and we want everyone standing guard,’” Tillman said in a conversation with the New York Times. “  And they wanted us to make arrests. It wasn’t just about going after the violent individuals. It was, ‘There’s some guys working on a house outside. Let’s go swap them up, and it will count for the quota system.’ To me, it felt political.”

Notably, during the event Charles Tillman was describing, White House border czar Tom Homan and TV personality Dr. Phil McGraw had traveled to Chicago to participate in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation focused on illegal immigration. The operation involved coordinated targeted arrests with participation from multiple federal agencies, including the FBI, DEA, ATF, Border Patrol, and U.S. Marshals. Tilman chose not to take part, instead going to support his daughter.

Furthermore, Tillman also revealed more of his reservations about Trump’s administrative policies shortly after he left his eight-year FBI job last year.

‘Some of the things they’re doing I personally didn’t agree with, such as immigration,” he said on  ‘‘The Pivot’’ podcast last September. “I didn’t agree with how the administration came in and tried to make individuals do things against their beliefs. It didn’t sit right. An example being immigration. Everybody was told, ‘You’re going to go after the most dangerous criminals.’ But what you see on TV and what actually was happening was, people weren’t going after that. Personally that didn’t sit right with me, that didn’t sit right with my conscience. You have the ability to refuse an order.”

‘‘I want to be on the right side of history when it’s all said and done.”

But he has also admitted that’s not a luxury everyone is given.

“There are a lot of people in the FBI that aren’t happy with how the organization is being run by FBI Director Kash Patel, but they can’t quit like I did,” he said, referring to his approximately $49.1 million earnings during his 12-season run with the Chicago Bears and $1.68 million from the Carolina Panthers.

It’s all thanks to his millionaire status that Tillman can be a good dad to his four daughters, Tiana (17), Tayla (20), Tysen (16) and Tessa (13). In fact, these days, his routine consists of daily pickups and drop-offs from school, podcasting duties on “NFL Players: Second Acts” with former Panthers teammate Roman Harper, and charity work. As per the New York Times, Tillman is also considering getting a Ph.D, “maybe in history”.

And before anyone reduces his resignation to a mere attention-seeking effort aimed at regaining the fame he once enjoyed in the league, let’s go back down memory lane.

During a time when the NFL attracted unwanted attention with the arrests of Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson, it was Tillman who single-handedly helped instill faith in the system. From appearing at charity events in arm casts to raise over $200,000 for the Charles Tillman Cornerstone Foundation, donating $1 million to over 300 families in need, and helping build a school in Cambodia, Tillman’s impact also inspired his locker room.

“He’s one of the reasons why I came here,” Bears’ defensive end Jared Allen said. “He’s a great guy. He’s a great teammate.”

As for the cornerback, he particularly didn’t care about the attention.

“It’s my responsibility to be me,” he said back then. “I’m going to continue to be myself. If that gets spotlighted and that gets attention, so be it. If it doesn’t, I’m OK with that as well.”

But it got him the spotlight, nonetheless. In 2013, Tillman was awarded the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year, an honor to recognize a players’ on-field excellence and community service.

That said, while Tillman’s departure from the FBI made headlines, his decision to join the agency in the first place was equally remarkable. The former Pro Bowl cornerback’s transition from the gridiron to federal law enforcement was an unconventional path that few NFL players have taken.

Looking back at Charles Tillman’s incredible journey from the NFL to the FBI

Charles Tillman grew up in a family dedicated to national service. His father, Donald, was a 20-year U.S. Army sergeant, and this lifestyle led Tillman to move constantly, attending 11 different schools before graduating high school. His criminal justice degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette suggested he might pursue a similar career in public service.

Instead, his time on the football field at Louisiana-Lafayette proved pivotal. He invented the now-famous ‘Peanut Punch’ move and, following his selection by the Chicago Bears in the 2003 draft’s second round, became an innovator who changed how defense is played in the NFL.

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Tillman then spent 12 seasons with the Bears and one with the Panthers, starting 164 of 168 games and recording impressive stats, including 930 tackles, 126 pass deflections, 38 interceptions, 44 forced fumbles, and 11 fumble recoveries. But after announcing his retirement following an injury ahead of Super Bowl 50. Then, after stints in the media, immediately after his retirement, Tillman enrolled at the FBI’s training academy in Quantico in 2018.

Now, as Tillman pulls the curtain over another incredible chapter of his life, Chicago fans will continue supporting this legendary cornerback in his crusade.