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LAS VEGAS — Through the glistening glass doors of the Park MGM hotel lobby, a crowd of fans watched a white charter van slowly pull up and stop.
In that moment, a grandiose idea born from a social media post became a reality.
Rapper Flavor Flav vowed in February to give the U.S. women hockey team, winners at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, a "real celebration" in Las Vegas after President Donald Trump joked about having to invite them to the White House. But even when Clark County greenlit a parade and weekend-long event in May, it was fair to wonder how things would pan out.
And as Flavor Flav, the unlikely but now undeniable ambassador for women's sports, hopped off the bus and began to stoke the crowd for the arrival of Team USA athletes from multiple sports, it became clear the experience was already exceeding expectations.
"This is crazy," bobsledder Kaysha Love said to her husband, fellow Team USA bobsledder and former decathlete Hunter Powell, as they walked the path roped off from the applauding fans.
That was just the welcome ceremony. SHE Weekend hadn't even truly started yet. From Thursday, July 16, through Sunday, July 19, Las Vegas belonged to the American women of the winter games.
"This feels unreal," Flavor Flav told a horde of reporters on Thursday as his voice cracked from emotion, still high from the crowd's welcome. "This is tears of joy. Nothing has ever happened like this, ever."
The subsequent parade took place on a segment of the Strip and concluded at Toshiba Plaza, the area in front of T-Mobile Arena. The reigning WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, who participated in the parade with a few reserve players on their own float, utilize the venue for select home games and the expansion PHWL team will call it home starting in November.
Once the procession was complete, the participants walked the Dove-sponsored blue carpet and were presented keys to the Las Vegas strip on stage by Clark County Commissioner Tick Segerblom, who also proclaimed July 16 Flavor Flav day.
Flavor Flav and Chuck D, also known as Public Enemy, were the final act. They were joined on stage by artists Blu DeTiger and Grace Bowers, who both played their own guitar solos during a rendition of “She Got Game,” which was released in collaboration with Seattle Storm rookie Flau’Jae Johnson in February.
The festivities didn't wrap until well after 10 p.m., followed by after-parties at Park MGM nightclub On the Record and The Cosmopolitan's Marquee Nightclub. The latter featured a live performance from Montell Jordan.
The celebration continued Friday night, when 80 athletes were honored during a dinner at The Cosmopolitan. U.S. women’s hockey gold medalists Hilary Knight, Hayley Scamurra, Alex Carpenter and Laila Edwards and Olympic figure skating stars Alysa Liu and Amber Glenn were in attendance. Olympic ice dancer Madison Chock and was rugby athlete Ilona Maher were also there. During the dinner, bobsledder Elena Meyers Taylor, who helped organize the event, was presented the inaugural Flavor Flav Icon Award for being the most decorated Black athlete in Winter Games history.
Watching the Backstreet Boys at Sphere, the Blue Man Group and Cirque Du Solei, the athletes were seen all over the strip for the remainder of the weekend. On Sunday, they enjoyed a day party at Mandalay Bay's Tailgate Beach Club.
"Especially for the younger girls out there to just see what you can accomplish," Scamurra said. "We are worthy of that, we are worthy of the celebration and we are worthy of the recognition."
Flavor Flav the hype man
As the festivities began, you could feel the tone shift when the athletes were asked about the political overtones of the weekend. Although Flavor Flav showed hesitance with the topic, he addressed it.
"What really inspired me to put this weekend on was me seeing the girls being cheated out of the celebration they should have," he said. "When Donald Trump didn't give these girls the proper invitation, that's when I stepped in."
It was a reference to Trump inviting the U.S. men's hockey team to the White House and State of the Union. Trump added that the women's gold-medal-winning team would also “have” to be included or he'd be "impeached." The women’s team ultimately declined the invitation, citing schedule conflicts.
A reporter asked about the political statement Flavor Flav was making.
"One thing that I really don't do is the politics thing," the rapper answered. "To me, it's all about unity. It's all about love. It's all about respect."
"But this is political," the reporter responded, leading Flavor Flav to address Trump directly.
"Check this out, politically speaking, Donald. My girls are going to get a way better celebration than what you gave the guys," he said. "Because my girls are going to be eating shrimp, lobster, steak ... not McDonald's."
That wasn't an effort Flavor Flav and his team mounted alone. In addition to MGM resorts, which comped 128 rooms and provided multiple venues for the event, SHE Weekend was bolstered by countless sponsors and a GoFundMe that raised nearly $140,000. Delta Airlines provided travel, including a plane. Other sponsors included Joe Lewis Company (which produce the Grammy and Oscar awards), Planet Fitness, Express and Beis.
MGM resorts senior VP of ports and Entertainment Stephanie Glanzer said the event required "a very quick turnaround," coming together in the final 30 days before it was set to kickoff.
For Flavor Flav, a father of eight children – five of them daughters, one thing made all the effort worth it. He recalled watching his daughter's faces during their respective sports and seeing their expressions shift when they didn't get recognition for something they did well.
“Not a good face, not a good feeling," Flavor Flav said. "I’m not only here to push them. I’m here to hype them up. Cause I’m a hype man.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: How Flavor Flav turned a presidential snub into a three-day women's sports celebration
