FBI Director Kash Patel joined Team USA's men's hockey celebration after the gold medal-winning team's victory in Milan at the Winter Olympics on Sunday, the Daily Mail reported.
Patel, an amateur hockey player and avid fan, was in the stands in the Italian city as the U.S. beat Canada 2-1 in overtime, just days after the American women won gold in the same manner.
After the game, Patel praised the victorious U.S. team and headed into the locker room to join the celebration.
A video shows Patel drinking and spraying beer before a gold medal was draped around his neck.
Photos also showed Patel alongside head coach Mike Sullivan and several players, including Jack Hughes, who scored the goal that secured the gold medal.
Patel later posted on X: "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."
He earlier wrote, alongside photos from the postgame celebration: "Unity, Sacrifice, Attitude — what it takes to be the best in the world."
President Donald Trump phoned the American players to congratulate them and reportedly invited them to his State of the Union address on Tuesday, according to the Daily Mail.
Sullivan said Trump "just spoke to the group expressing how proud he was of the group and congratulating everybody on the win. Obviously, this game in a lot of ways was an inspiration to our country."
Some Americans criticized Patel over the FBI's claim that his visit to Milan was a business trip, which came during the bureau's involvement in high-profile cases such as the search for Nancy Guthrie and the shooting of a gunman at Mar-a-Lago.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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