Before the trip to Italy, the Kelce brothers (Jason, a former lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis, who plays tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs) donated $10,000 to the Edwards family to help Laila’s mom, Charone Gray, get to the Olympics to support her daughter
“OMG, thank you, so much for taking time out of your busy day to notice us little people and support us,” Charone said earlier in the month. “Like, that was huge because the Kelces don’t know us. The only connection is Cleveland Heights. I really appreciate it.”
The Edwards family is from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, which is where the Kelces grew up as well.
"So, I mean, those are just really good guys," Laila told People Magazine prior to the tournament. "They're really good people, too, outside of their athletic abilities."
Thanks in part to the donation from the Kelces, Charone made the trip to see Laila in her first-ever Olympics. Laila’s 91-year-old grandmother, Ernestine Gray, was able to make the trip as well.
Outside of international competition, Laila is a University of Wisconsin senior defenseman.
The United States have put together a historic Olympic tournament so far, outscoring their opponents 31-1 through their first six games. The team also set the record for the longest shutout streak in Women's Olympic history at 331 minutes and 23 seconds (they haven’t allowed a goal since the second period of their first game against Team Czechia).
The U.S.A will face off against either Team Canada or Team Switzerland in the gold medal game on Thursday at 1:10 p.m. ET.
-- NHL.com staff writer William Douglas contributed to this report
