Notre Dame graduate Danielle Green wins Pat Tillman Award

Danielle Green, a former Notre Dame women's basketball player who lost part of her left arm from a rocket-propelled grenade attack while serving in Iraq, was honored with the Pat Tillman Award at the ESPYs on Wednesday night.

The award is dedicated in the name of Tillman, the former NFL player who left the Arizona Cardinals to enlist in the Army and was killed in April 2004. Green was injured a little more than a month later.

"It's such an honor to receive an award named after Pat Tillman," Green said in her acceptance speech. "There are a lot of lessons people like Pat and I learned in sports and a lot of lessons we learned in the service. Maybe the most powerful lessons are the common goals, the loyalty, teamwork, selflessness and commitment that individuals show one another."

Green, an Irish guard from 1995-2000, was previously profiled in a two-part series (Part 1 | Part 2) by the South Bend Tribune's Virginia Black.

"So, if my story leaves you with one thing tonight, I hope it leaves you with a challenge," Green said later in her speech. "Ask yourself: What's my purpose? What's my passion? What do I want my legacy to be? How can I live as a full human being? Not all of us are Pat Tillman, but we can all find ways to serve our community. We can all find ways to support the people around us. We can all find a purpose on this Earth larger than ourselves."

ESPN's video tribute on Green can be seen here.