As US hockey defender Laila Edwards prepares to skate onto the Olympic ice for Thursday’s gold medal match against Canada, her gaze will undoubtedly seek out the true MVP in the stands: her 91-year-old grandmother, Ernestine Gray.
This cherished ritual, a poignant moment of connection, was made possible by an outpouring of donations to a GoFundMe campaign, notably bolstered by a substantial contribution from NFL brothers Travis and Jason Kelce.
“As she comes in, she’s looking around,” Ernestine Gray told The Associated Press. “Then I say, ‘I won’t do anything to distract her.’ Then she did see me and I wave to her and then she waved back.”
Edwards, who holds the distinction of being the first Black female hockey player to represent the US at the Olympics, has effectively assembled her own support team in Milan.
The fundraising effort facilitated travel for ten family members and four friends from the US to witness her Olympic debut, with others covering their own expenses.
Following Monday’s semi-final victory, Edwards expressed to the AP that her family’s presence in Milan “means everything to me.” She added, “They helped me get here and make this team and achieve my dream, so it means a lot.”
The journey to Milan was not without its challenges. A month before the Olympics, when Edwards informed her parents of her selection, they faced a daunting financial hurdle.
While they could cover costs for two, accommodating the entire family – all of whom had supported her throughout her career – seemed prohibitively expensive.
They had also deliberately avoided booking early flights or securing cheaper hotel rates, fearing it might jinx her chances.
“We had to start talking about how to get money,” her mother, Charone Gray-Edwards, recalled. “Who would go? How would we afford it?”
The family is accustomed to supporting Edwards from afar; she left home at 13 to attend Bishop Kearney Selects Academy in Rochester, New York, before moving on to the University of Wisconsin, where she is currently playing her senior season for the top-ranked Badgers.
Edwards is widely expected to be a top-three pick in the Professional Women’s Hockey League draft in June.
Despite the distance, her Olympic debut was an event no one wanted to miss.
Her father, Robert Edwards, launched the GoFundMe campaign, titled: “Send Laila’s Family to the Olympics to Cheer Her On!”
He set an ambitious target of $50,000, aiming to ensure that family members wouldn’t have to choose between attending a game and paying household bills back in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
“There’s a lot of ups and downs in playing hockey at this high level and so she’s going to need somebody there,” her father explained. “So I was like, ‘Well, pride be damned: we’re going to do a fundraiser.’”
The Kelce brothers, who grew up in the same town as Edwards, have been vocal supporters since 2023, when she became the first Black player to join the US senior women’s national team, giving her a shout-out on their popular podcast, “New Heights.”
The largest individual donation to the GoFundMe, a sum of $10,000, came from the Kelces, Edwards confirmed. By early Thursday, the Edwards family had raised more than $61,000.
Travis Kelce also offered advice to the “Queen of Cleveland”, a nickname bestowed upon her by teammates.
Jason Kelce and his wife, Kylie, were even spotted in the stands on Monday, cheering on the US team during their 5-0 victory over Sweden, a match where Edwards, a forward-turned-defender, secured an assist.
The generosity from the Kelces and local residents underscores the tight-knit community spirit, her parents noted, even though their daughter moved away at a young age.
Edwards, widely considered the future face of women’s hockey, has also become a significant inspiration for the Black community in Ohio and beyond.
While diversity is increasingly visible in sports like football, winter sports have seen less progress, with very few Black athletes participating in the Milan Cortina Olympic Games. Men’s and women’s hockey globally, including in the US, remains predominantly white.
“Just to hear all the people of colour talking about, ‘I’ve never watched hockey before and I’m tuning in,’” Gray-Edwards said.
“I would love to know what the ratings are. Because everybody at home, everybody is talking about it. All these people are trying to buy jerseys.”
For Gray-Edwards, some of the most meaningful moments have been witnessing young boys approach her daughter for an autograph.
“That means they’re not like, ‘Oh, this is a girl that plays hockey.’ They’re like, ‘This a good hockey player.’ So it doesn’t matter if she’s Black, a woman — she’s a good player,” she reflected.
However, Gray-Edwards’ most cherished memories will likely transcend the games and scores, stemming instead from the sight of her 91-year-old mother and her 22-year-old daughter sharing moments at the rink.
“You can just see them waving at each other. My mother’s like jumping and, oh, she just loves it,” Gray-Edwards concluded.
