FBI Director Kash Patel acted as though he was “more of a bro” than a coach to the high school hockey players he worked with, according to a report. The revelation comes after Patel was filmed drinking beer with the victorious U.S. men’s national ice hockey team at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy in February, which sparked controversy.
Patel’s love for hockey led him to coach a youth team more than a decade ago, his friend Clark Mowrey told CNN. Mowrey said he approached Patel at a gym in Washington, D.C., after spotting him in a Hartford Whalers shirt, and eventually asked him to coach his son’s team. Patel, who worked at the Department of Justice at the time, was never paid and often arrived at the rink still wearing his work suit.
“It was crazy because I really didn’t realize how busy his schedule was,” Mowrey said. “But he never missed a practice and never missed any games. The kids kind of fell in love with him, and he was always there and always available.” After leaving the DOJ in 2017 and joining the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Patel began volunteering as an assistant coach for another youth team in D.C., made up of students at the then-Woodrow Wilson High School, now renamed Jackson-Reed.
A former player named Luke told CNN that Patel “really cared about us.” “All of the games were Friday nights, so he was giving up all of his Friday nights to come coach me and my idiot friends. He definitely cared,” Luke said. He added that Patel “lost it” on one occasion, lambasting a player for being late, leading to a “screaming match.” Another former player described Patel as “one of the guys” and “more of a bro” than a coach.
Several players recalled Patel telling his team not to “believe that fake news” when they mentioned something about President Trump. One anonymous player said they “laughed it off at the time,” but later saw Patel on Fox News with his own segment. Luke said Patel announced he was leaving after the 2019 season because he had “got a really important job.” “Little did we know his job was being buddy-buddy with Trump and all that good stuff,” he said.
Some players said the video of Patel at the Olympics showed a man unlike the one they knew, with several claiming they barely recognised him. Patel defended his appearance during a press conference on Tuesday, saying he is “an everyday American who loves his country, loves the sport of hockey.” A sports agent representing one of Team USA's players was blunt: “He should’ve never been allowed into the room.”
