Team USA received a congratulatory call from President Donald Trump and got to celebrate and share a beer with FBI Director Kash Patel after their historic gold-medal win.
Patel confirmed he was partying in the locker room with the American team after a video was posted to social media of him drinking a beer, spraying it in the locker room and yelling as the players sang Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the USA” after their thrilling 2-1 overtime win over Canada at the 2026 Milan Cortina Game on Sunday.
Team USA forward Matthew Tkachuk even put a gold medal around Patel’s neck.
“For the very concerned media – yes, I love America and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys- Greatest country on earth and greatest sport on earth,” Patel wrote on his personal X account.
Patel, a well-known hockey fan, also posted photos of himself with the team. One included him with players — including overtime hero Jack Hughes and the Tkachuk brothers — holding an American flag, and another with USA and Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan as the team celebrated behind him.
Patel was wearing a white USA shirt.
“Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude- what it takes to be the best in the world,” Patel posted on X. “These men live and breathe it. Now Team USA are gold medal champions, legends standing on the shoulders of giants. Thank you for representing the greatest country on earth, in the greatest game ever created. congrats boys.”
Ben Williamson, assistant director of public affairs for the FBI, stated on X on Feb 19 that Patel’s trip to Italy was not a personal one and that it had been planned months ago.
Williams stated it included “meetings with Italian law enforcement and security officials, a meeting with American Ambassador to Italy Tilam Fertitta and meetings with Legat staff, among other things.
He added in a post on Sunday, after Patel faced backlash for being at the game and celebrating with the team, that “any other personal expenses would be reimbursed.”
The gold medal was the United States’ first at the Olympics since the “Miracle on Ice” team in Lake Placid in 1980 and the nation’s third overall.
A video posted by the White House’s Rapid Response account shows Patel holding up the phone so Trump can congratulate the squad after the historic win.
“He just spoke to the group expressing how proud he was of the group and congratulating everybody on the win,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “Obviously this game in a lot of ways was an inspiration to our country.
“I can’t tell you how many texts I’ve received over the last day or so about watch parties at 8 in the morning. I think from a viewership standpoint in the United States, there were a lot of people paying attention, the president included.”
