I was actually a decent offensive player in the sports I played. I could shoot, pass, score goals, hit. Played a lot of the leadership positions – point guard, quarterback, shortstop, goalie. 

But my real skill was defense. 

I’ve always felt a strong calling to be a defender – sports and real life. When I played, I could often steal balls, intercept passes, tackle, field. Even when I played ultimate frisbee, I gravitated toward defending even though this role was meant for taller players. I loved organizing the defense. 

And I loved playing goalie. 

These two ice hockey ones stood out to me – Don Beaupre and Ray LeBlanc. 

Beaupre played for the Washington Capitals when I first arrived in the US.  He was small – at 5’7” he was no more than 2 inches taller than me. But he would single-handedly win games. At that time, the team had a hard time scoring and he would make save after save against some very talented teams. He was my hero. 

LeBlanc played on one of the US Olympic teams. Back then, countries could not send players from the NHL, the world’s premier league. The US sent a collection of college and minor league players. They had to play teams from other countries with more seasoned professionals. They were decidedly underdogs. 

But for LeBlanc. 

A career minor leaguer who was never good enough to latch onto a NHL roster, he was the starter and old in comparison to his teammates. Like Beaupre, he single handedly won games and even got the US against all odds to fourth place in the tournament, not a small achievement for a simply overmatched team. After the Olympics, he returns a hero and even plays a few NHL games but it’s his courage in the Olympics that is remembered. 

When I was NYPD, I photoshopped the following phrase over a picture of our headquarters – Protect This House I Will. I actually stole that phrase from an UnderArmor ad campaign, which originated from the University of Maryland. Some of my colleagues recognized and appreciated the symbolism and meaning behind that photo.

I did many things for them but my primary role was to protect the department, officers, and thereby the city. In my special way, I protected the protectors – a great honor.