Madison Police Chief Mike Koval said he has canceled his subscription to watch NFL games amid the “taking a knee” conversation.
“As a constitutional officer of the court, I pledged to protect and defend constitutional rights and freedoms so the recent diatribes from all directions on this issue is moot; although I also have the prerogative of expressing my views — off duty — and have canceled my all-access subscription to viewing NFL games,” Koval said in a blog post Wednesday.
Koval said he hopes a vigil Wednesday night at the Law Enforcement Memorial outside the State Capitol will give those in uniform an opportunity to stand up for something.
The ceremony, starting at 5 p.m., will be held to mark the restoration of the memorial, which was vandalized in September.
“The Law Enforcement Memorial bears the names of those selfless servant leaders who paid the ultimate sacrifice,” Koval wrote. “In a time when we are bombarded with a celebrity culture that accords and rewards surreal figures who are self-absorbed with advancing the interests of ‘me, myself, and I’ it is only fitting that we reboot and take a moment to draw upon those who were willing to don a bulletproof vest and stand in harm’s way in defense of a complete stranger.”
Koval said kids should look to members of the military and protective services in their communities for role models instead of celebrities.
“In an era where there is a paucity of role models for our kids to look up to, one need only look as far as those who are still laboring on the front lines of the military and protective services as a surety that some things have withstood and will endure the test of time for character and commitment,” Koval said.
