SI

Flavor Flav Invites U.S. Women’s Hockey to Party After Trump Joke: Everything to Know

The U.S. women’s hockey team recently declined an invitation to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address following their gold medal win over Canada in the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The U.S. women’s hockey team recently declined an invitation to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address following their gold medal win over Canada in the Milan Cortina Olympics. | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

American rapper Flavor Flav is making sure the U.S. women’s hockey team is getting the celebration they deserve after taking home gold in the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Last week, the U.S. women’s hockey team beat Canada in overtime in the gold medal game to cap off their stunningly dominant Olympic run, one that saw them concede just two goals and record five straight shutouts in the tournament. In the wake of their triumph, the American women reportedly were invited to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night but declined due to “timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.”

After news of them declining the White House’s invitation broke, hip-hop artist Flavor Flav floated his own proposal to the U.S. women’s hockey team inviting the players to Las Vegas for a “real celebration.”

"We saw the story about the men’s invite to the White House, and the not quite invite for the women’s team," the invite sent by Flavor Flav read. "... [Flav] always stands behind everything he says and does. If there is an interest for the team to come to Las Vegas and celebrate with Flav – we will figure it out on our end and make it a lovely experience."

The “not quite invite” likely refers to President Trump’s viral phone call with the U.S. men’s hockey team during which Trump joked he “probably would be impeached” if he didn’t invite the American women to the White House, too. Several U.S. men’s hockey players could be heard laughing at the joke, which has since incited plenty of controversy.

Flavor Flav’s recent Olympics collabs, from Jordan Chiles to U.S. Women’s Hockey

Flav is no stranger to supporting women’s sports on the international stage. During the 2024 Paris Games, he memorably made a bronze clock necklace for American gymnast Jordan Chiles after Chiles’s individual bronze medal was stripped following a controversial finish. He also went clubbing with the U.S. women’s water polo team after they placed fourth in Paris, and he later signed a five-year sponsorship deal as the official hype man for the U.S. men’s and women’s water polo teams.

In this year’s Winter Games, Flav was an official sponsor and hype man for the U.S. bobsled and skeleton teams.

“I think a lot of other celebrities like myself need to step up to the plate and sponsor some of these Olympic teams, because these Olympians are out there busting their butts to make us look good,” Flav said. “After the sport has been played, people have a tendency to forget about the sport until it's played again. I want this sport to stick in your mind after the season is over.”

As of Tuesday morning, an Instagram post from Flav’s account appeared to confirm that the U.S. women’s hockey team accepted his invite to Vegas. Several companies have since commented on Flav’s invite and offered to help make his Olympics party happen, including Alaska Airlines, StubHub, various beauty companies, resorts and DJs. “Hit up my team in my bio and LETZ DO THIS,” Flav wrote under one of his Instagram posts. “We looking at May 22-24.”

Meanwhile, the U.S. men’s hockey team will be attending President Trump’s State of the Union address, Quinn Hughes confirmed Tuesday. The American men also defeated Canada in the Olympic final to clinch their first gold medal since 1980.


More Winter Olympics on Sports Illustrated


Published | Modified
Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

Share on XFollow kriscwong