Kash Patel's Apppearance at an Olympics Celebration Has Led to Major Backlash

Over the course of his first year as director of the FBI, Kash Patel has caused some controversy because he seems to be more focused on his appearance and potential perks than he is on actually doing the job. That reputation only got worse after he appeared to be celebrating the U.S. Men's hockey team's gold medal victory in Milan on the same day that a man was shot for trespassing on the grounds of Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.

After footage of the FBI director celebrating with the team went viral online, many wanted to know whether he was actually at the Olympics. Here's what we know.

Patel was indeed at the Olympics, and the video of him celebrating in the locker room is genuine. In the video, Patel can be seen chugging a beer before forward Matthew Tkachuk puts his gold medal on Patel and the group loudly sings “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” by the late Toby Keith.

Patel has been criticized for seeming more interested in this kind of celebration than he is in doing the investigative work that is the reason the FBI exists.

In response to those criticisms, Patel suggested that he had been invited into the locker room.

“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,” he wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Although his most high-profile moment in Milan came when he was celebrating with the hockey team, Patel also met with the Milan Joint Operations Center, which is an intra-agency effort that pops up around the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The operations center is “focused on protecting the U.S. athletes, 250,000 U.S. citizens who traveled to Milan for the games, as well as the private sector companies we share information with every day," Patel explained on X.

“Nearly 100 U.S. 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 continued.

That appears to be the official reason for Patel's visit, but he is also a hockey fan who plays recreationally in his spare time.

It's not unreasonable for the FBI director to occasionally attend a sporting event, but Patel's appearance in the locker room caused such consternation in part because he was drinking on camera in his official capacity, and in part because it reinforces his broader reputation as an unserious person.

Ultimately, though, this controversy is unlikely to do any lasting damage to Patel. Because of the way President Trump runs his White House, the most important thing is Patel's loyalty to the president. Drinking beer in the locker room of the Olympic team, although it might be a bad look, is unlikely to cost him his job.