Britta Curl-Salemme, a forward for the U.S. Women’s National Hockey Team and the Women’s Professional Women’s Hockey League, has rejoined the debate surrounding transgender athletes after making an Instagram video in partnership with a group working to prevent transgender women from participating in women’s sports.
Curl-Salemme and FIERCE Athlete, which promotes “authentic femininity in sports” and “empowers female athletes to thrive in their God-given identities,” have been connected since September when the organization announced her as a representative. But the video posted by Curl-Salemme and FIERCE Athlete on Monday comes just weeks after the 25-year-old distanced himself from social media activity that previously drew backlash from progressive fans of the PWHL.
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In the video, Catholic Cole Salem talks about her Sunday morning routine. The video shows her preparation for the day, followed by her attending a Latin Mass, and includes on-ice footage from the Minnesota Frost’s victory over the New York Sirens. The video also shows Cole-Salem reading from the Bible at home, with the post’s title citing Mark 10:45, which she called her favorite scripture.
Although the FIERCE Athlete branding does not appear in the video, Curl-Salemme tagged the group in the video. It appeared on the group’s Instagram page but has since been deleted.
The PWHL declined to comment on Curl-Salemme’s partnership with FIERCE Athlete or the use of on-ice footage in the video. Minnesota Frost and Fierce Athlete did not respond to requests for comment. A spokesperson for USA Hockey said the representatives were en route to the Winter Olympics in Cortina, Milan, and could not be reached. Cole-Salem will compete in the Olympics.
The Hockey News’ Ian Kennedy first reported on Curl-Salemme’s latest collaboration with FIERCE Athlete.
Controversy surrounding Cole Salem’s religion and politics has persisted since Frost selected him in the second round on the eve of the 2024 PWHL Draft.
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In the weeks leading up to the June 2024 draft, Cole-Salem’s past social media activity began circulating online. Internet sleuths discovered that Curl-Salemme “liked” posts criticizing Target for selling LGBTQ+ products and criticizing vaccine mandates. She also “liked” posts supporting Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot two people and wounded another during riots in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020 following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. An X post on Curl-Salemme’s personal account in June 2023 also expressed support for banning trans women from participating in women’s sports.
After the draft, Curl-Salemme posted a video on X apologizing for the “hurt” her social media activity had caused.
“I specifically recognize that my social media activity has caused harm to the entire community, including LGBTQ+ and BIPOC individuals, and I just want to apologize and take responsibility,” Curl-Salemme said.
Still, loud boos followed her from the draft stage to pregame introductions and postgame interviews. Sometimes, she would hear jeers when she touched the puck. She spoke directly about it for the first time in December last year on her profile Competitorbelieves her critics have misunderstood her.
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“If I was really who people say I am, I hope they would boo me. But that’s not accurate,” she said. “The person being portrayed and the things being shared, it sounds like a… person. Someone who is racist, transphobic, hateful and wishes people didn’t exist, and I don’t like them either.”
Cole-Salem said “liking” a post does not mean she agrees with its content. She said she disagreed with a post she liked in which conservative Candace Owens said stores selling LGBTQ+ products were “perverts.” Regarding Rittenhouse’s actions, she said she may not have all the facts but did not support his actions. She also denounced supporters who pushed anti-trans rhetoric while defending her.
“It’s absolutely disgusting,” she said. “If you’re just here to be rude or hateful to someone, I don’t want you to defend me.”
FIERCE Athlete founder Samantha Kelley has been outspoken about her views on barring trans women from participating in women’s sports, including appearing on the faith-centered “Broken Halo” podcast in July 2022 to discuss the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Responding to comments from pastor and presenter Dave Dwyer, Kelly said there appeared to be more focus on improving the culture of women’s sports, but highlighted the “threat” posed by the participation of transgender athletes.
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“We have to keep moving forward. I mean, there are threats from other fronts, like biological males trying to compete in women’s sports. That’s the current threat, but we’ve had some wins in that area recently, so hopefully things are moving in the right direction,” Kelly said.
Later, while discussing the toxicity of the “play it out, party it up” culture in college sports, Kelly noted that many young athletes struggle with eating disorders and body image issues. One of the issues, she said, is that “in the women’s space, we do see a lot of women struggling with same-sex attraction.”
The FIERCE podcast, which has not released an episode since 2024, previously aired a miniseries called “Fighting for Women in Sports,” which focused exclusively on transgender athletes. The first episode of the series is an interview with Riley Gaines, a former college swimmer who is now a conservative media pundit. Another episode featured Paula Scanlan, another former college swimmer at Penn who gained attention for criticizing her transgender teammate Lia Thomas. The third is Macy Petty, who has spoken out against facing transgender opponents in college volleyball.
The show’s final episode was in May 2024, when Kelly interviewed Jennifer Sey, founder of athletic apparel company XX-XY Athletics.
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“Every other major sports brand claims to support female athletes but is either silent on the topic of men entering women’s sports or is in fact on the wrong side of the issue,” the company’s website states. “How can a brand say they support female athletes and be okay with the idea of men stealing trophies, varsity spots and scholarships from hard-working female athletes? They can’t. They sell out women for the sake of wokeness.”
Several other PWHL players also “liked” or commented positively on Curl-Salemme’s latest post, including U.S. national team players Haley Winn and Hayley Scamurra, as well as Frost teammates Kendall Cooper, Claire Butorac, Mae Batherson, Brooke Becker and Dominique Petrie. They are joined by national team player and 2026 PWHL draft pick Tessa Janecke.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
minnesota frost, olympics, women’s hockey
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