A new hotline is inviting Americans to congratulate the U.S. women’s hockey team after its historic Olympic gold medal win—and it’s already flooded with messages.
Launched yesterday by the PR firm Jennifer Bett Communications in collaboration with Cosmopolitan, the “gold medal hotline” allows fans to leave voicemails celebrating Team USA. The number, 1-833-SHE-WON1, has received 278 messages since opening yesterday afternoon, many from girls and women who say the team inspired them.
“This hotline is essentially a giant, collective ‘thank you’ from fans everywhere,” Jennifer Meyer, founder of Jennifer Bett Communications, tells Fast Company. “We want to remind them that they are seen, they are celebrated, and they have the full support of a country that is incredibly proud of them.”
And the messages themselves reflect that outpouring of gratitude.
“You guys are what I wanted to be when I grew up, but they didn’t let girls play hockey back then. I am bursting with pride over what you’ve done. Congratulations,” one message went.
Another said: “Boys in my class always make fun of me for playing hockey and sometimes make me think I should quit, but you guys just rebuilt my confidence on and off the ice.”
The hotline comes after the U.S. women’s team defeated Canada on Sunday to secure its third Winter Olympics gold medal—and its first since 2018—though the victory was partly overshadowed by a viral video from the men’s team’s locker room later that day. In the clip, President Donald Trump congratulated the men’s team over video call and invited them to the State of the Union and the White House, adding he was also “going to have to bring the women’s team” and that if he didn’t, he’d “probably be impeached.” Players could be heard laughing, a reaction that drew accusations of misogyny online. All but five members of the USA men’s ice hockey team later visited the Oval Office on Tuesday, while a USA Hockey spokesperson said the women’s team also received an invitation but declined.
New Jersey Devils player Jack Hughes, who scored the winner for the U.S., addressed the backlash. “People are so negative out there and they are just trying to find a reason to put people down and make something out of almost nothing,” he told the Daily Mail. “Everything is so political. We’re athletes.”
Others were quick to point out that partying with FBI director Kash Patel and celebrating a historic win by attending the State of the Union is, in fact, what makes sports political.