Danbury's Viral Rant Hockey Coach to be Honored by Fox

DANBURY, CT — Fox Nation will honor a Danbury hockey coach whose locker room rant went viral with their Most Patriotic Sportsman of the Year award.

The commemoration is part of the television show's first annual Patriot Awards presentation, which celebrates "modern day patriotism by honoring individuals across the country who have shown steadfast dedication to our nation, and the patriotic values we hold dear," according to the event's website.

John Krupinsky, assistant coach of Danbury's Federal Hockey League team, the Hat Tricks, became a local and social media folk hero when he warned the team against "taking a knee" in the team's inaugural season.

"If there's anybody here that's going to be disrespectful to either the American or Canadian national anthem, grab your gear and get the f--- out now because you'll never see the ice in this arena," Krupinsky said, in a locker room speech that has now been viewed millions of times on the internet.

Krupinsky, a sergeant in the Danbury Police Department, says he's been on Fox about twice a month since the hockey video went viral. His sudden success followed years of trying to break into the talking head business.

"They always have cops a lot on Fox & Friends, Fox Nation, talking about shootings and stuff, but I know all those guys, they haven't been working in the last 15 years!" Krupinsky said. He has been a cop the last 38 years, and says he had been steadily submitting his CV for consideration as a pundit on the network when his rant exploded last July.

"That hockey video really opened doors that my resume couldn't," he told Patch. "It worked out pretty well for me."

The network will be flying Krupinsky and his family to St. Peteresburg, FL, for the big gala on Nov. 6, which is being thrown to benefit the Folds of Honor Foundation.

The Danbury officer's next star turn will be Sunday night, Oct. 27, at 6:30 on Fox, when he appears with a score of other police officers in a town hall that will explore what "policing is really like in America," Krupinsky said.

It'll be the cap on a big weekend for the celebrity cop. The puck drops for the Hat Tricks' season opening this Friday, Oct. 25 and Saturday, Oct. 26 when the team hosts the Port Huron Prowlers in a two game series at their home in the Danbury Ice Arena.

"My wife asks me every day, 'when are you going to retire?'" Krupinsky said. "In four more years I'll be 62, and it may be in the cards then. I want to go enjoy life a little."

See the coach's viral pep talk below. Warning: Some of the language is graphic.