It’s really amazing to see hockey fans, PR professionals, women and (some) men stand on business when it comes to the US men’s ice hockey debacle. To recap, at the Milano Cortina Olympics, the US women’s and men’s ice hockey teams both won their gold-medal games against the Canadian teams. Soon after the American men won gold on Sunday, they went back to the locker room, where they took a phone call from Donald Trump. Trump mocked the American women’s team in the call and all of the hockey bros laughed, because bitches, amirite? The bros then partied with Kash Patel, and followed up that MAGA mess by going to the White House, allowing themselves to be used as MAGA props by a profoundly unpopular fascist and misogynist. They also turned up at the State of the Union, all while the women’s hockey team partied far away from the fascist catastrophe. Many of the male and female players were back to work on Wednesday, which is why the men started backtracking and the women adopted a “not my monkeys, not my circus” attitude.

Olympic gold medal winner Hilary Knight said Wednesday that a widely circulated comment from President Donald Trump about the United States women’s team was a “distasteful joke” and that she’s more focused on celebrating the women’s accomplishments at the Milan Games.

During the American men’s team’s locker room celebration in Milan, Trump extended an invitation to the players to come to Washington for the State of the Union address. “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that,” adding with a laugh that if he didn’t also invite the women’s team, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”

Appearing on “SportsCenter” on Wednesday, Knight said, “I thought it was sort of a distasteful joke, and unfortunately that 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.

“We’re just focusing on celebrating the women in our room, the extraordinary efforts, and continue to celebrate three gold medals in program history as well as the double gold for both men’s and women’s at the same time. And really not detract from that with a distasteful joke.”

Knight later said that she was looking forward to “celebrating all great things that have come out of the Olympics and feeling the love and support and getting back in our respective communities and sharing this journey with them. And that’s what this is all about.”

Several players on the men’s team appeared to laugh at Trump’s comment, a reaction that drew criticism when the video went viral. Jack Hughes, who scored the men’s gold medal game winner, and his brother Quinn were asked about the situation Tuesday and focused on the team’s relationship with the women’s squad.

“Our relationship with them, over the course of being in the Olympic Village, I think we are so tight with their group,” Hughes said in an interview he and Quinn did on “Good Morning America.” “After we won the gold medal, we were in the cafeteria at 3:30 a.m. in the morning with them. We go from there, pack our bags and we’re on the bus. People are so negative about things. I think everyone in that locker room knows how much we support them, how proud we are of them. The same way we feel about them, they feel about us.”

Knight echoed that the teams get along well.

“I think there’s a genuine level of support there and respect,” she said. “I think that’s being overshadowed by a quick lapse. 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 overshadowing that connection and genuine interest in one another and cheering each other on.”

Goaltender Jeremy Swayman told reporters in Boston after returning to practice with the Bruins that the men “should have reacted differently” to Trump’s remarks.

“To share that gold medal with them is something that we’re forever grateful for,” Swayman said. “And now that we’re home we get to share that together forever and see the incredible support we have from the USA and share this incredible gold medal.”

Hughes said the moment did not reflect the views of the men’s team. “You’re in the moment and the president calls. We’re blaring the music. It is what it is,” Hughes said Wednesday night after his first game back with the New Jersey Devils. “We have so much respect for the women’s team and they have so much respect for us. We are all just proud Americans.”

[From ESPN]

Hilary Knight also said that this controversy should serve as a “really good learning point, to really focus on how we talk about women, not only in sport but in industry. Women aren’t less than, and their achievements shouldn’t be overshadowed by anything else other than how great they are.” Knight is such a badass, and her comments were echoed by other players on the women’s Olympic team. Like, that’s the reason why so many people are so angry on behalf of the women’s team too – the men’s behavior was so gross and egregious, it completely overshadowed the women’s achievement just a few days beforehand. Also: as a tennis fan, I love that so many people are circulating clips of Andy Murray repeatedly centering women athletes and pushing back against the casual sexism across sports. Andy Murray always stood on business about female athletes, especially Venus and Serena Williams.

"The joke was distasteful and unfortunate…Now I have to sit in front of you…and explain someone else's behavior. It's not my responsibility."

– @TeamUSA captain and Torrent forward Hilary Knight on the call and joke by President Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/JgKz18fzi1

— KING 5 Sports (@KING5Sports) February 26, 2026

Taylor Heise on the U.S. men's Olympic hockey locker room comments: pic.twitter.com/Je0vWH3npw

— Heather Rule (@hlrule) February 25, 2026

Jeremy Swayman on the reaction to the postgame call with President Trump:

“We should’ve reacted differently. We’re so excited for the Women’s team and have so much respect for the Women’s team.” pic.twitter.com/NLJmk7wlE5

— Evan Marinofsky (@EvanMarinofsky) February 25, 2026

Photos courtesy of Instagram.