U.S. Women’s Hockey Privately Accepts Gold Medal Party Invite After White House Buzz

This summer, the U.S. women’s hockey team will be partying as champions at American rapper Flavor Flav’s special celebration honoring the players for their gold medal-winning run at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The U.S. women’s hockey team have reportedly accepted an invite to Flav’s party in Las Vegas that will celebrate the team as well as other female Olympic athletes, per Flav’s post on X (formerly Twitter). The celebration, dubbed the “She Got Game” weekend event, runs from July 16 to 19 and has already secured brand partnerships with MGM Resorts and The Gist, a women-led sports media brand.
SHE GOT GAME. July 16-19. Viva Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/NdPjIbGWgO
— FLAVOR FLAV (@FlavorFlav) February 26, 2026
The U.S. women’s hockey players accepted Flav’s invitation on their own without input from USA Hockey, a person familiar with discussions told The Associated Press. The person added that it was unclear whether the entire 23-player roster would attend due to potential scheduling conflicts.
Following their gold medal win over Canada in Milan, the U.S. women’s team declined an invitation to President Trump’s State of the Union address due to timing and scheduling. There is currently no date set for the American women to visit the White House to celebrate their Olympic victory. Their male counterparts, on the other hand, accepted Trump’s invite and were honored by the president at the White House Tuesday night.
The women’s team’s reported decision to attend Flav’s post-Olympics celebration comes in the wake of a now-viral phone call Trump had with the U.S. men’s hockey team during which the president made a joke at the women’s players’ expense. “We’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” Trump said after the American men also won gold. “I do believe I probably would be impeached, okay?”
Team USA captain Hilary Knight called the joke “distasteful” but also seemed to imply she wasn’t happy with the media narratives around her team’s Olympic triumph stemming from the recent controversy.
“It’s a great teaching point to really shine light on how women should be championed for their amazing feats. And now I sort of have to sit, or anybody has to sit in front of you and explain someone else’s behavior. It’s not my responsibility,” Knight said at a press conference Wednesday night.
Flavor Flav is a longtime advocate of women’s sports and publicly supported the likes of American gymnast Jordan Chiles, as well as the U.S. women’s water polo team at the 2024 Summer Games in Paris.
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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.
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