Vegas-based personality Flavor Flav, MGM Resorts, and The Gist are preparing to honor Team USA’s female Olympians at a three-day, ‘She Got Game’ celebration in Vegas this July.
Rapper Flavor Flav and MGM Resorts will host a three-day “She Got Game” celebration in honor of Team USA’s female Olympians in Vegas this July. The Gist, a women-led sports and media branding company, has signed on as the event’s official media sponsor.
Planning for the event kicked off after Team USA declined President Donald Trump’s State of the Union invitation. In response, Flavor Flav extended an invitation to the US Women’s Hockey Team for a “real celebration” on X.
If the USA Women’s Hockey team wants a real celebration and invite… I’ll host them in Las Vegas.”
Further backlash followed a video of the Men’s Olympic Hockey Team on a call with Trump after its gold medal win.
During the phone call, the men’s team accepted the SOTU invite while Trump treated the women’s team as a joke. The women’s team, in a statement, officially declined the invite citing timing and logistics issues. The women’s hockey gold medal victory took place on Feb. 19, three days ahead of the men’s game. The women’s team’s professional players were due to report back to their teams, and its college athletes were scheduled to resume classes earlier in the week.
Flav later posted a flyer for “She Got Game,” planned for July 16-19, on X. He also launched a GoFundMe to accept donations for the event.
Flav, notably, has long been a champion of women in sport. In 2024, he signed a five-year sponsorship agreement with the US women’s water polo team.
Athletes, Fans Prepare for ‘Huge Celebration’
What initially started as a simple idea quickly grew into a multi-day extravaganza as Las Vegas resorts, businesses, headliners, and corporations lined up to support. Celebrities even volunteered to host events.
MGM Resorts shared a statement with Gambling Insider about the much-hyped event and said more complete details would follow:
MGM Resorts is hosting the She Got Game weekend July 16-19 in Las Vegas. Planning is underway and details will be shared soon as we get ready to celebrate our incredible USA athletes in a way only MGM Resorts knows how: world-class hospitality, high-energy fun, and memorable experiences. Stay tuned to @mgmresortsintl for the latest updates.”
Jacie DeHoop, co-founder of The Gist, told Fox5Vegas that when they started amplifying the event, they had no idea how big it would become.
“It’s going to be a huge celebration… Ultimately, our goal is to get these female athletes paid. So how are we creating more opportunities beyond just the weekend to have more brand deals coming in, more content created, raise the profile of a lot of these female athletes? Maybe this becomes an annual weekend in Vegas, and this is really just year one.”
Previously, Las Vegas has hosted championship celebrations, including parades down the strip, for the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights and WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces.
Clark County Commission Chair Michael Naft told Fox5 that the county is working with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority on the future celebration.
Said Naft:
“There are so many incredible athletes who made us proud, and nowhere better to have a celebration than the Las Vegas Strip. There’s a lot of excitement around it and no doubt this is the best place to do it.”
Athletes, Olympians Welcome the Support
After Flav’s invitation, Team USA’s Alex Carpenter told the media that Flav stepping up like that was “definitely super special.” Carpenter also plays for the Professional Women’s Hockey League’s Seattle Torrent.
Carpenter added they would “finish our season up here then… go have some fun and celebrate like we deserve.”
Other women Olympians have since expressed gratitude for the appreciation and support.
Lexi Lagan, an elite sport shooter from Boulder City, told Fox5 that representation like this matters, especially for young athletes.
“This is such a great visual space for young ladies, for young athletes all together to see these women in sport, to see the accomplishments that they are able to have. Being able to get this opportunity to mingle and interact with these athletes and learn a little bit more about their story, it’s going to be really amazing.”
These athletes are not only fighting for the gold, but also their livelihoods, added Lagan.
“So having an event like this, that brings so much awareness to our athletes and their needs, and having so many brands that are getting really excited and really involved to help sponsor Team USA is really amazing,” she said.
To that end, The Gist is planning to connect women athletes with brands and sponsorship opportunities to help supplement incomes.
Women Tired of Being Overlooked
Jamie McCormick, who handles The Gist’s brand sponsorships, told Gambling Insider via email that women are tired of being overlooked.
The GIST has been covering women’s and men’s sports equally since day one. Putting these athletes on a level playing field seems obvious, but it’s a super powerful part of our coverage. That call with the US Men’s Hockey Team articulated exactly why. Women, both athletes and fans, are tired of feeling like an afterthought.”
McCormick added that when the outlet saw Flav’s post, they knew they had to be involved. And, she said, they’re working with Flavor Flav’s team to make “She Got Game” more than a one-time event.
Since 2018, The GIST has become the destination for female fans. Our audience cares about people and brands who are walking the walk when it comes to elevating women’s sports. Flavor Flav has a long history of advocating for female athletes, and when we saw his initial tweet, we knew we had to jump in to help.
It’s been incredible seeing the overwhelming amount of support for She Got Game Weekend. We’re working with Flavor Flav’s team to make this more than just a one-time celebration. The goal is to create a larger financial impact for these athletes that goes beyond the weekend. Flavor Flav has a GoFundMe up and running, and there are many more announcements to come.”
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