FBI Director Kash Patel was in Milan on Feb. 22 to watch Team USA defeat Canada in overtime to win Olympic gold. After the 2-1 victory, Patel joined players inside the locker room as they celebrated their first Olympic title in decades.
But footage and photos of Patel celebrating with the team quickly sparked backlash online.
Reactions to FBI Director Kash Patel Celebrating With Team USA
Patel shared images from the celebration on X, including one featuring overtime hero Jack Hughes and the Tkachuk brothers posing with their gold medals. Another photo showed Patel standing with head coach Mike Sullivan while players celebrated in the background.
“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.” Patel wrote.
Video circulating online also appeared to show Patel celebrating energetically in the locker room and drinking what looked to be alcohol before a player placed a gold medal around his neck.
The images quickly sparked backlash across social media. Writer Zito posted on X that the situation “should be a huge scandal,” criticizing what he described as the FBI director using government resources to attend and celebrate overseas.
Ron Filipkowski, editor-in-chief of MeidasTouch.com, wrote: “The FBI Director, everyone. You paid for it.”
Reporter Billy Binion questioned whether taxpayer dollars were used for the trip. He wrote, “Sorry, but this is ridiculous. The head of the top law enforcement agency in the U.S. should not be using taxpayer dollars to jet set across the world & get drunk with athletes. Can’t imagine the outrage if a Biden appointee did this.”
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Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, who is running for U.S. Senate, also weighed in, writing: “The FBI director parties on your dime.”
In response to the criticism, Patel addressed what he called the “concerned media” in a follow-up post.
“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.
Patel was in Italy for official meetings on international security and law enforcement cooperation. He met with Italian ministers to discuss cybersecurity and announced in one post a new agreement to strengthen global coordination, alongside attending the Olympic final.
