Arizona Cardinals Pro Bowl wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald will be one of six speakers and one of three athletes participating in Senator John McCain's memorial service in Phoenix on Thursday, according to reports. Fitzgerald was reportedly asked by Cindy McCain, wife of the late senator, a few months ago to speak at the service after a visit to the McCain ranch in Cornville, Arizona.
"It's truly one of the greatest honors of my life to be able to talk about somebody who served his country so passionately and had been so dedicated to policies of this nation," Fitzgerald said, according to ESPN. "So, I was really taken aback by it."
According to ESPN, Fitzgerald said he'll have five to six minutes to speak, but knows it won't be easy to give McCain justice for all of the things he has done for the country.
"Fortunately, I've had some time to get prepared and put some of my thoughts on paper," Fitzgerald said. "I've had to kind of shorten it down. You have a short window. It's tough to be able to get everything you want to say. How do you accurately be able to give somebody their due justice who served the United States for 60-plus years, I mean dedicated his entire life.
"You think about those 60-plus years and everything he's done from his time served as a POW to all the years in the senate, the things he's done her for the great state of Arizona -- and to be able to do that in five or six minutes is extremely difficult. I'm going to do the best I can and try to honor him for the wonderful man that he is."
In addition to Fitzgerald, former Diamondbacks outfielder Luis Gonzalez and former Coyotes forward Shane Doan will serve as pallbearers, according to ESPN.
https://twitter.com/_/status/1033517729909682177
