Washington Capitals called out after posting GoFundMe for ill PA announcer

The Washington Capitals are being called out by fans after sharing a fundraising link for their longtime PA announcer, Wes Johnson.

The 63-year-old Johnson was hospitalized last week after being found unresponsive. His family set up a GoFundMe page for him, and the Capitals shared the link Monday on their X account.

“The Washington Capitals express our heartfelt thoughts and send our best wishes to our beloved public address announcer, Wes Johnson,” the post read, explaining Johnson had suffered a “significant medical emergency.”

The Washington Capitals express our heartfelt thoughts and send our best wishes to our beloved public address announcer, Wes Johnson.

Please visit the GoFundMe page established by the Johnson family for additional support at https://t.co/2cUDf6v6Im pic.twitter.com/sxwolDSjC4

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 27, 2025

Front Office Sports reported that Capitals team owner Ted Leonsis had donated $25,000 to the fund, which had raised more than $165,000 as of Wednesday afternoon (exceeding the $50,000 goal). But FOS noted many Capitals fans “were outraged” that Leonsis had not offered to cover all expenses for Johnson, who has handled the Capitals’ PA duties for 25 years.

Leonsis, who also owns the Washington Wizards and Washington Mystics as CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, has a net worth of $3.1 billion, according to Forbes.

Many fans vented their anger on social media, with many posts full of profanity.

25 years as the pa announcer for the caps and we’re making the social media team share a gofundme link. ted, come on man. https://t.co/55YoxsuQ5z

— bald coach appreciator (@OVECHKlN) January 27, 2025

Imagine working 25 years as the voice of the Washington Capitals, you get a medical emergency & your billionaire owner has the social media team put a gofundme link on twitter. https://t.co/8jcyKzdGNB

— You Be Frank (@Yoube_Frank) January 27, 2025

So embarrassing for the team to be sharing a Gofundme link for this. https://t.co/S9Qqt05MtF

— Andrew (@adfvbricks) January 27, 2025

The owner of the Washington capitals is worth 3.1 billion dollars. Billionaires don’t deserve to exist. https://t.co/dJTrRNLz3R

— Más Def (@projectpatriley) January 28, 2025

There’s good news regarding Johnson, who remained in the ICU Wednesday. According to a statement Tuesday by his wife, Kim, on the GoFundMe page, Johnson “is awake and talking, but just a little out of it. He’s still in ICU but far more stable. Specialists have a theory on what the health issue is and they’re running tests to zero in on the cause.”

Johnson has a wide following beyond his gig with the Capitals. He’s an actor who has appeared in films such as The Invasion and Hearts in Atlantis and several popular TV shows, including Veep and The Wire. He’s also a cartoonist, comedian and voice artist, who has lent his voice to many cartoons, commercials and video games, including Fallout 3 and Fallout 4.