Several members of the US Olympic men’s ice hockey team have issued public apologies following widespread criticism of their reaction to comments made by former President Donald Trump during a congratulatory call. The incident occurred as the team celebrated their gold medal victory over Canada last weekend.
Locker room footage captured multiple players laughing when Trump jokingly remarked that he would be ‘impeached’ if he failed to extend an invitation to the equally triumphant women’s team for his State of the Union address. Both the presidential comments and the athletes’ response have generated significant controversy, threatening to overshadow what should have been a celebratory moment for American hockey.
Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy expressed regret to reporters ahead of an NHL game on Thursday: ‘Certainly sorry for how we responded to it in that moment. Things just happened really quick there. If you know the relationships that we have with the women’s team and how we’ve supported them, it’s certainly not reflective of how we feel.’
Carolina Panthers player Matthew Tkachuk emphasized the strong camaraderie between the men’s and women’s teams during the Milan-Cortina Games: ‘We watched other events together. We went and supported. We love the women’s team, and the women’s team loved us. And we’re so proud that we had a clean sweep of gold medals.’
The controversy expanded when the White House’s official TikTok account published an AI-enhanced video appearing to show Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk making disparaging remarks about Canadians. Tkachuk vehemently denied the video’s authenticity, stating: ‘Well, it’s clearly fake, because it’s not my voice, not my lips moving. I know that those words would never come out of my mouth.’
Meanwhile, the women’s team declined Trump’s invitation to the State of the Union address, citing prior commitments. Team captain Hilary Knight described the president’s joke as ‘distasteful’ and lamented how it had diverted attention from their athletic achievements. ‘How we speak about women matters, and we need to celebrate this team,’ Knight stated during an appearance on ‘Good Morning America.’
While the women’s team has yet to decide on a potential White House visit, they are confirmed to attend a celebratory event in Las Vegas this July hosted by rapper Flavor Flav.