Navy Federal and NHL Select United Heroes League as the Stick Tap for Service Honoree

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Navy Federal and NHL Select United Heroes League as the Stick Tap for Service Honoree

2026-04-21 20:32 Last Updated At：20:50

VIENNA, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 21, 2026--

Navy Federal Credit Union and the National Hockey League® (NHL) are proud to announce the United Heroes League® (UHL) as this season’s NHL Stick Tap for Service ™ honoree, recognizing the organization’s extraordinary impact on military families and the hockey community nationwide.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260421290010/en/

A stick tap—the sound of hockey sticks tapping together on the ice or against the boards—is a meaningful sign of sportsmanship and applause among teammates. For 7 years, NHL Stick Tap for Service, presented by Navy Federal, has honored individuals’ personal stories of how hockey has impacted their lives and their contributions in service to others. This season, with the partnership in its eighth year, Navy Federal and the NHL selected one organization whose mission has made a lasting difference for both the hockey and military communities.

“UHL has made an extraordinary difference for military families and their children nationwide, giving them the chance to participate in the sports they’re passionate about—especially hockey,” said Joe Bock, vice president of brand strategy at Navy Federal. “We’re honored to recognize their remarkable dedication.”

The credit union will donate $100 for every goal scored during the first round of the Stanley Cup ® Playoffs (up to $50,000) to support the UHL’s mission and programming. Additionally, the UHL will be spotlighted across Navy Federal and the NHL’s social media channels, as well as on ESPN’s ‘The Point’ and TNT game broadcasts.

“Now in its eighth year, Stick Tap for Service continues to highlight the power of hockey within the military community,” said Evin Dobson, NHL Senior Vice President, Partnership Marketing. “We’re proud to stand alongside Navy Federal Credit Union and recognize the important work of United Heroes League, whose commitment to military families has made a lasting impact on communities from coast to coast.”

Headquartered in Hastings, MN, UHL was founded to support children of military Servicemembers. The organization’s nationwide efforts break down barriers to youth sports by offering free equipment, running skill-development camps, awarding cash grants and creating special experiences for military families.

Through these programs, UHL fosters confidence, connection and a sense of belonging among military kids. To date, UHL has helped more than 100,000 military families keep or start their kids in sports.

“We’re so deeply honored to be this year’s NHL Stick Tap for Service honoree,” said Shane Hudella, president and founder of United Heroes League. “We’ve been fortunate to have incredible supporters like Navy Federal Credit Union, the NHL and so many other good people who see the value in what we do for military families. This recognition and support will make a substantial impact on our mission and allow us to put substantially more military kids on the ice, giving them an opportunity to play the game they love.”

To learn more about NHL Stick Tap for Service, visit www.nhl.com/fans/stick-tap-for-service.

Navy Federal Credit Union: Established in 1933 with only 7 members, Navy Federal now has the distinct honor of serving more than 15 million members globally and is the world’s largest credit union. As a member-owned and not-for-profit organization, Navy Federal always puts the financial needs of its members first. Membership is open to all Department of Defense and Coast Guard Active Duty, Veterans, civilian and contractor personnel, and their families. Navy Federal employs a workforce of over 25,000 and has a global network of 382 branches. Navy Federal is contracted to operate the Overseas Military Banking Program under the authority of the Department of Defense, which provides Active Duty military Servicemembers deployed overseas with access to some 60 branches and hundreds of ATMs spread across 10 countries and territories. For more information about Navy Federal Credit Union, visit navyfederal.org.

NHL: The National Hockey League (NHL), founded in 1917, consists of 32 Member Clubs. Each team roster reflects the League’s international makeup with Players from more than 20 countries represented, all vying for the most cherished and historic trophy in professional sports—the Stanley Cup. Every year, the NHL entertains more than 670 million fans in-arena and through its partners on national television and radio; more than 191 million followers—League, team, and Player accounts combined—across Facebook, X, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube; and more than 100 million fans online at NHL.com. The League broadcasts games in more than 250 countries and territories through its rightsholders, including ESPN, TNT Sports and NHL Network in the U.S.; Prime Video, Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada; and via SiriusXM NHL Network Radio™, Sports USA and TuneIn; and reaches fans worldwide with games available to stream in nearly 200 countries and territories ( listed here ) via NHL.TV on DAZN.

Fans are engaged across the League’s digital assets on mobile devices via the free NHL App; across 9 social media platforms; on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio™; and on NHL.com, available in 8 languages and featuring unprecedented access to Player and team statistics as well as every regular-season and playoff game box score dating back to the League’s inception. NHL Productions develops compelling original programming featuring unprecedented access to Players, coaches, and League and team personnel for distribution across the NHL’s social and digital platforms.

The NHL is committed to building healthy and vibrant communities using hockey to celebrate fans of every race, color, religion, national origin, gender identity, age, sexual orientation and socio-economic status. The NHL’s social impact platform, NHL Unites, reinforces that the official policy of the sport is one of inclusion on the ice and in locker rooms, boardrooms and stands. For more information, visit NHL.com.

UHL: United Heroes League is a 501(c)(3) national non-profit based in Hastings, Minnesota. The foundation assists families of all branches of the military by providing free sports equipment, free youth hockey camps, financial grants to offset sports fees, special experiences of meeting pro athletes, and pro sports tickets so the entire family can enjoy a night out at the game. United Heroes League - Where military families and sports Unite. Follow United Heroes League on X, Facebook and Instagram.

Navy Federal will donate $100 for every goal scored during the first round of the Stanley Cup® Playoffs (up to $50,000) to support the UHL’s mission and programming.

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Fired former UK official says he felt political pressure to approve Mandelson as US ambassador

LONDON (AP) — The top official behind the decision to approve the appointment of Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to Washington said Tuesday that he felt political pressure from Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office to rush through the selection, despite security concerns.

Former Foreign Office head Olly Robbins said that Starmer's office had a “dismissive attitude” to security vetting of the scandal-tainted Mandelson. The testimony increases the heat on Starmer, who is facing calls to resign over the appointment of Mandelson, a friend of Jeffrey Epstein, to one of the U.K.'s most important diplomatic posts.

The prime minister fired Robbins last week after the revelation that Mandelson was approved for the job in January 2025 against the recommendation of the government's security vetting agency.

Robbins said that the concerns about Mandelson didn't relate to his relationship with Epstein. He declined to say when questioned by lawmakers what led the government's vetting agency to flag him as a potential security risk.

Mandelson had to resign twice from senior posts in previous Labour Party governments because of scandals over money or ethics. A separate background report prepared before he was appointed ambassador flagged potential business links to Russia and China as a concern.

Robbins said that the vetting agency considered Mandelson a “borderline case” and was “leaning toward recommending against” giving him security clearance. Robbins decided to clear him anyway.

Starmer has called it “staggering” that Foreign Office officials failed to tell him about the security concerns, which he says he only found out about last week.

But Robbins said that the rules bar details of the sensitive vetting process from being shared except in “exceptional circumstances.”

Robbins told the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee that there was an “atmosphere of pressure” coming from Starmer’s office to approve the appointment so Mandelson could be in the post at the start of the second term of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Starmer announced the choice of Mandelson in December 2024, before intensive security checks were carried out. Robbins said that there was “a very, very strong expectation” that Mandelson “needed to be in post and in America as quickly as humanly possible” and “a generally dismissive attitude” to the security vetting from Starmer's office.

Robbins said that he was “very conscious” that refusing Mandelson security clearance would have caused “a real problem for the government and a problem for the country” in relations with the Trump administration.

Robbins insisted that his department “did not bow to that pressure.” He said that his decision to grant Mandelson clearance was based on security advice that the risks could be managed.

Robbins declined to identify any individuals as being behind the pressure. Starmer's chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney, a protégé of Mandelson, resigned in February, saying he took responsibility for the decision to appoint Mandelson.

The leader of the opposition Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, said that Robbins’ testimony “is devastating to Keir Starmer.”

She said that “it is now absolutely clear that ‘full due process’ was not followed. Keir Starmer has misled" the House of Commons — generally considered a resigning offense.

Starmer, who has denied misleading lawmakers, acknowledged on Monday that he made the wrong judgment when he picked Mandelson for the job. But Starmer said that he would have withdrawn the appointment if he’d known about the failed security vetting.

Starmer fired Mandelson in September, nine months into the job, when new details emerged about his friendship with Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019.

The U.K. leader has ordered a review into any security concerns arising from Mandelson’s access to sensitive information while ambassador.

Critics say the Mandelson appointment is more evidence of bad judgment by a prime minister who has made repeated missteps since he led Labour to a landslide election victory in July 2024.

He picked Mandelson as ambassador, despite being warned by his staff that Mandelson’s friendship with Epstein exposed the government to “reputational risk.”

But Mandelson's expertise as a former European Union trade chief and contacts among global elites were considered assets in dealing with the Trump administration.

The scandal has caused gloom among lawmakers in Starmer’s center-left Labour Party, already anxious about its dire poll ratings. Starmer already defused one potential crisis in February, when some Labour lawmakers urged him to resign over the Mandelson appointment.

Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said that he had raised concerns about the choice of ambassador, but didn’t think Starmer should resign over the debacle.

“If every time a prime minister made a mistake they resigned, we would shuttle through prime ministers like nobody’s business,” Miliband told the BBC.

Mandelson is under police investigation for suspected misconduct in public office after a trove of Epstein-related documents released by the U.S. Justice Department in January included emails suggesting that Mandelson had passed on sensitive — and potentially market-moving — government information to Epstein in 2009, after the global financial crisis.

British police launched a criminal investigation and arrested Mandelson in February. Mandelson has previously denied wrongdoing and hasn’t been charged. He doesn't face allegations of sexual misconduct.

FILE - Olly Robbins walks on Whitehall in Westminster, London, Jan. 17, 2019. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP, File)

FILE - Olly Robbins walks on Whitehall in Westminster, London, Jan. 17, 2019. (Dominic Lipinski/PA via AP, File)

Peter Mandelson is seen with his dog outside his home in London, Monday, April 20, 2026 as Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer is facing a showdown in Parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Monday, April 20, 2026 to face a showdown in Parliament over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

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