United States women’s Olympic hockey captain Hilary Knight called President Donald Trump’s invitation to the team a “distasteful joke” during an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Wednesday. The controversy began after Trump phoned the men’s team on Sunday following their 2-1 overtime gold medal win over Canada. During the call, Trump said the women’s team should also be invited.
“I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team — you do know that,” Trump said over a speakerphone held by FBI Director Kash Patel. Trump added that if the women’s team was not invited, he “probably would be impeached.” His remark was followed by laughter from players in the locker room.
The US women’s team won their third Olympic gold medal on Thursday at the Milan Cortina Winter Games, beating Canada 2-1 in overtime. Knight scored the late goal that tied the match and forced overtime. The women’s team did not attend Trump’s State of the Union address, saying they had prior academic and professional commitments. In the ESPN interview, Knight said the controversy was distracting from the team’s success. “It is overshadowing a lot of the success, the success of just women at the Olympics carrying for Team USA and having amazing gold-medal feats.”
Locker room video sparks backlash
A video of Trump’s phone call with the men’s team quickly spread on social media. Several players could be heard laughing at the suggestion that the president could be impeached for not inviting the women’s team. The reaction drew criticism online, leading some players to respond publicly.
Boston Bruins and Team USA goalie Jeremy Swayman apologised for the moment on Wednesday. “We should’ve reacted differently,” Swayman said. “We are so excited for the women’s team and we have so much respect for the women’s team – to share that gold medal with them is something that we will forever be grateful for.”
Knight described the laughter as a mistake but defended the players. “quick lapse” in judgment. Despite the controversy, Knight said both teams respected each other and should be celebrating their achievements together. “I think the guys were in a tough spot, so I think it’s a shame this storyline and narrative has kind of blown up and is overshadowing that connection and genuine interest in one another and cheering each other on,” Knight said.
Celebration plans and White House visit
Rapper Flavor Flav, who supported Team USA during the Olympics in Italy, invited the women’s team to celebrate in Las Vegas. Knight said she hoped the team could attend but that players’ commitments to professional and college teams made it difficult to organise immediately.
Men’s team honoured in Washington
Some members of the men’s team travelled to Washington on a military plane and attended Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night. During the speech, Trump praised the team. “Our country is winning again. In fact, we’re winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it,” Trump said. “To prove that point, to prove that perfect here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud: the men’s gold medal Olympic hockey team.” Trump said the women’s team would also visit Washington “soon,” but USA Hockey has not confirmed any plans.
Players respond to political debate
Jack Hughes, who scored the overtime winning goal for the men’s team, returned to play for the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday and received a warm welcome from fans. After the Devils’ 2-1 loss, Hughes spoke about the controversy.
“Obviously, there’s so many different people in the country with so many different views. So, no matter what’s going on – someone’s going like it, someone’s not going to like it,” Hughes said.
He said the team’s focus was on celebrating their success. For us, it was about the celebration. Celebrating USA hockey, celebrating our teammates, our group of guys. Like I said, we just had so much fun fun being together and enjoying the moment together.”
Hughes said the players respected the women’s team and were proud of both teams’ achievements. “It is what it is now but we have so much respect for the women’s team. They have so much for us and we’re all just proud Americans and we’re happy that we both swept the Olympics,” Hughes said.
Earlier in the week, Hughes tried to distance the team from politics. “We’re just hockey players, right? So, we did our job. We went over to the Olympics to win a gold medal and that’s what we did. I’ve had the best time of my life celebrating with my teammates that we accomplished our goal and like I said, I’m a hockey player,” Hughes said.“We’re just so proud to be back in the US and celebrating our gold medal and to do it with our teammates that’s the best part.”
Knight reflects on women’s achievements
Knight said the controversy should serve as a reminder about how women’s sports are discussed. “Really good learning point, to really focus on how we talk about women, not only in sport but in the industry. Women aren’t less than and their achievements shouldn’t be overshadowed by anything else other than how great they are.” With her goal in the Olympic final, Knight became the all-time Olympic leader in goals and points for the U.S. women’s team. She is expected to return to action on Friday with her professional club, the Seattle Torrent of the PWHL.