The military's handling of his death as a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan spawned controversy. Originally he was reported as having been killed by enemy combatants, but later it emerged he was killed by friendly fire. It is standard military policy to investigate friendly fire incidents thoroughly before revealing any details. <ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37679-2004Dec5_2.html Army Spun Tale Around Ill-Fated Mission] Washington Post, December 6, 2004</ref> Charges of cover-up by his unit and his superiors surfaced. The incident attracted extra attention because the soldier had been a well-known professional athlete, and also because his death was controversial and the hostile [[liberal]] media wanted to attack any bad news of the [[Bush administration]]. After three-years of investigations his death was ruled a "friendly fire" incident, also known as fratricide. | The military's handling of his death as a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan spawned controversy. Originally he was reported as having been killed by enemy combatants, but later it emerged he was killed by friendly fire. It is standard military policy to investigate friendly fire incidents thoroughly before revealing any details. <ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37679-2004Dec5_2.html Army Spun Tale Around Ill-Fated Mission] Washington Post, December 6, 2004</ref> Charges of cover-up by his unit and his superiors surfaced. The incident attracted extra attention because the soldier had been a well-known professional athlete, and also because his death was controversial and the hostile [[liberal]] media wanted to attack any bad news of the [[Bush administration]]. After three-years of investigations his death was ruled a "friendly fire" incident, also known as fratricide. |