US Women’s Olympic hockey team captain Hilary Knight, appearing on ESPN’s SportsCenter Wednesday, characterized President Trump’s White House invitation as “a distasteful joke.”
This invitation followed a Sunday phone call from Trump to the men’s team, who were celebrating their 2-1 overtime gold medal victory over Canada in their locker room.
Speaking via speakerphone, held by FBI Director Kash Patel who was filmed celebrating with the team, Trump stated, “I must tell you, we’re gonna have to bring the women’s team — you do know that.”
Trump then joked that he would “probably be impeached” if the women’s team wasn’t also invited, a remark met with laughter from the locker room.
The women’s team secured their third Olympic gold medal ever by beating Canada 2-1 in overtime at the Milan Cortina Winter Games on Thursday, thanks to Knight’s crucial late equalizer.
Previously, the women’s team had turned down an invitation to Trump’s State of the Union address, citing prior academic and professional commitments.
During the ESPN interview, five-time Olympic medalist Knight expressed concern that the dispute over Trump’s invitation was “overshadowing a lot of the success, the success of just women at the Olympics carrying for Team USA and having amazing gold-medal feats.”
The viral locker room video from Sunday showed several men’s team members audibly laughing at the notion of the President being impeached for failing to invite the gold-medal-winning women’s team.
The interaction involving the men’s players, Trump, and Patel sparked considerable criticism after the video gained traction on social media.
On Wednesday, Team USA and Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman admitted, “We should’ve reacted differently.” He added, “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.”
Regarding the men’s reaction to the women’s potential White House visit this week, Knight characterized the locker room laughter as merely a “quick lapse” in judgment.
Despite the tension, Knight underscored her pride in the men’s gold medal win, stating that both teams ought to be celebrating a monumental week for American hockey instead of dealing with political repercussions.
Knight commented, “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.”
Flavor Flav, the rapper who acted as Team USA’s hypeman in Italy, separately invited the women’s team on social media Monday, proposing “a real celebration” in Las Vegas.
Knight expressed a desire to celebrate the team’s achievements in Las Vegas with the Public Enemy rapper, but stated that prior commitments with the PWHL and college teams made an immediate celebration impossible.
On Tuesday night, a portion of the men’s team, having flown to Washington on a military aircraft, were honored for six minutes by Trump during his State of the Union address.
“Our country is winning again. In fact, we’re winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it,” Trump declared. He continued, “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.”
During his national address, Trump pledged that the women’s team would “soon” be visiting Washington, though Team USA has not yet confirmed any such upcoming trip.
Jack Hughes, the player responsible for the men’s US hockey team’s overtime gold-winning goal, returned to the New Jersey Devils Wednesday night in a highly anticipated match against fellow Olympic teammate Tage Thompson and the Buffalo Sabres.
Both players received an enthusiastic ovation from the Prudential Center crowd, and Hughes took a moment to thank the fans for their immense love and support.
After the Devils’ 2-1 defeat, Hughes commented on the recent controversy, stating he wasn’t surprised by the discussion surrounding the team’s celebrations.
Hughes explained to reporters, “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.”
“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 being together and enjoying the moment together,” he added.
When questioned about his stance on the comments made by the women’s team and Swayman earlier in the day, the 24-year-old recounted the moment President Trump called into the locker room.
Hughes remarked, “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.”
Earlier in the week, when questioned about attending the White House and the State of the Union on Tuesday, Hughes had already downplayed the burgeoning political debate by emphasizing that the team members are simply “hockey players.”
“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 stated. “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 viewed the recent controversy as a “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.”
Knight’s last-minute equalizer in the Milan Olympic final cemented her place in US hockey history, making her the women’s all-time Olympic leader in both goals and points.
She is scheduled to return to the ice with her professional team, the PWHL’s Seattle Torrent, on Friday.