FBI Director Kash Patel Faces Backlash for Celebrating Team USA Hockey Victory in Milan Locker Room
- Eight former FBI and Justice Department officials sent MSNOW a copy of the video showing Patel partying in the locker room, noting that it was "drawing outrage" as it was shared in their circles.
FBI Director Kash Patel found himself at the center of a political firestorm this weekend after videos emerged showing him celebrating with Team USA’s men’s hockey team in their Milan locker room following their Olympic gold medal victory — just days after his spokesperson insisted reports of him attending the Winter Olympics were “fake news.”
The controversy erupted on Feb. 22, 2026, when Patel, 45, was captured on camera drinking beer, wearing a gold medal, and loudly singing “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” by the late Toby Keith with the team after their dramatic 2-1 overtime victory over Canada, according to news reports.
The Locker Room Celebration
Videos shared on social media showed Patel — an avid hockey fan who plays the sport recreationally — fully immersed in the post-game revelry. At one point, forward Matthew Tkachuk draped his gold medal around Patel’s neck as the group banged on tables and sang.
“Congratulations Team USA,” Patel appeared to say while making a shaka sign with his hand during Team USA center Dylan Larkin’s post-game Instagram Live feed.
The next day, Patel posted photos from the celebration on X (formerly Twitter), writing: “Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude- what it takes to be the best in the world. 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.”
Facing intense criticism, Patel issued a statement on X Sunday night addressing “the very concerned media.”
“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 Saturday, Patel had also met with the Milan Joint Operations Center, an interagency operation with international partners supporting the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. He wrote on X that the operation is “focused on protecting the US athletes, 250,000 US citizens who traveled to Milan for the games, as well as the private sector companies we share information with every day.”
“Nearly 100 US Government personnel have been surged to support the Olympics since the start of 2026 – with lessons we’ll take into the FIFA World Cup later this summer,” he added.
The FBI’s Official Justification
FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson confirmed that Patel traveled to Italy on an FBI Gulfstream jet on Feb. 19, 2026.
Williamson defended the trip in a Feb. 19 X post, stating: “No, it’s not a personal trip. Director Patel is on a trip that was planned months ago.”
According to Williamson, the trip included meetings with Italian law enforcement and security officials (who invited Patel last July), a follow-up meeting with Ambassador Fertitta, meetings with Legal Attaché staff, a U.S. consulate briefing on Olympic security, and thanking FBI personnel on the ground, according to The Daily Beast.
“So we have a U.S. consulate briefing on Olympic security and current FBI posture, as well as thanking FBI personnel on the ground,” Williamson wrote.
Williamson also claimed on Feb. 21 that reports had “purposefully misled people to think Kash was flying to Italy to hang out at the Olympics.”
The Contradiction
The locker room videos directly contradicted Williamson’s earlier defense. After the videos surfaced, Williamson’s insistence that the trip was purely official business drew mockery from critics.
“Your rag outlet wrote that [Patel] went to hang out at the Olympics on the taxpayer dime – even when provided information that your theory was false. When you’re ready to correct that let me know. Won’t hold my breath,” Williamson had written to journalists on Feb. 19, according to Yahoo News.
When journalist Ken Dilanian retweeted Williamson’s statement along with a video of Patel celebrating in the locker room, critics piled on. Even Steve Baker, a reporter for the pro-Trump outlet The Blaze, called out Patel’s spokesman, writing, “Ummm…what was that you said, @_WilliamsonBen?” according to Yahoo News.
Patel, whose full name is Kashyap Pramod Patel, is an Indian American attorney who became FBI Director in 2025. He has been a controversial figure since his appointment, drawing scrutiny for his close ties to former President Donald Trump and his use of government resources.
According to MS NOW, eight former FBI and Justice Department officials sent the outlet a copy of the video showing Patel partying in the locker room, noting that it was “drawing outrage” as it was shared in their circles.
This is not the first time Patel has faced criticism for using government aircraft for trips with personal elements.
In December 2025, congressional Democrats launched a probe into Patel’s use of government resources for seemingly personal reasons, including reports that he used a private FBI plane to travel to Pennsylvania to watch his girlfriend, country singer Alexis Wilkins, perform at a wrestling match.
“Mr. Patel, these planes are not yours. They are the property of the U.S. Government and paid for by the American people. You have come to embody the corruption the American people despise,” Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the Ranking Member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) wrote in a Dec. 1, 2025 letter.
In April 2025, Patel reportedly flew to Long Island, New York, to catch an NHL game between the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals. Flight records showed that one of the Justice Department’s Boeing 757s flew to New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport shortly before the April 6, 2025 game and flew back to Washington, D.C. shortly after the match ended.
The Timing Problem
The backlash intensified because Patel’s celebration occurred shortly after he publicly announced the FBI was assisting in the investigation of a fatal shooting at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
During the third period of the hockey game, Patel’s official government X account posted: “FBI is dedicating all necessary resources in the investigation of this morning’s incident at President Trump’s Mar-A-Lago – where an armed individual was shot and killed after unlawfully entering the perimeter.”
The incident at Mar-a-Lago coincided with Patel’s presence in Milan, drawing scrutiny over the timing of his public appearance.