US men's hockey team faces controversy after Trump call
The U.S. men's hockey team, whose miraculous overtime win over Canada clinched gold at the 2026 Olympics on Sunday, has faced swift backlash after team members' reactions to a now-viral phone call with President Donald Trump.
On a postgame call with Trump inviting the team to the State of the Union address in Washington, D.C., the team appeared to laugh along as the president said he would "have to" invite the Olympic gold medal winning woman's team as well.
After congratulating the team on their victory and inviting the team to the address on Tuesday night, he said, "I must tell you, we're gonna have to bring the women's team. You do know that," he said. "I do believe I probably would be impeached. Okay."
The call appears to have taken place in the team's locker room moments after Jack Hughes' heroic game-winning goal. In the video of the call, FBI Director Kash Patel appears to hold a phone towards the team as Trump addresses the group.
Patel then addressed Trump, confirming he would coordinate the meeting.
The athletes’ laughter on the call with Trump was quickly called out by fans of the U.S. Women’s hockey team, who beat the Canadian women’s team in a 2-1 overtime victory in Milan on Thursday. The win earned the team its third Olympic gold medal and eighth overall medal, according to USA Hockey.
At least one person in the U.S. men's locker room appeared to recognize the women's team's win on the call with Trump, as a shout of "two for two" can be heard in the background of the call, a seeming reference to both U.S. hockey teams winning gold.
ABC News has reached out to USA Hockey for further comment.
A petition on moveon.org, with over 20,000 signatures, calls on the men's hockey team to apologize for the call and skip the State of the Union address in solidarity with the women's team.
"There's no excuse for the U.S. men's team—as well as the president and FBI director—using their platforms to undermine, mock, and denigrate women athletes," reads the petition.
In a statement from a USA Hockey spokesperson, the women's team said Monday they would not be attending the State of the Union address on Tuesday.
"We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal–winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement," read the statement.
"Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate. They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment."
A social media post supporting the women's team in the wake of the phone call amid the team's historic run garnered comments from prominent female athletes, including two who also competed at the Milan Olympics.
"THIS🔥," read a comment from Olympic gold medalist skier Mikaela Shiffrin, while fellow skier Lindsey Vonn responded with three bicep emojis.
"ICONS. LEGENDS. THE MOMENT 🔥💛," read a comment from Vonn’s nonprofit organization, the Lindsey Vonn Foundation.
Rapper Flavor Flav commented on the post, "It’s ok,,, I got em. And we gonna throw one fun party in Las Vegas to celebrate them 👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾
The organization has not commented publicly on the U.S. Men’s hockey team’s phone call with Trump.
Some members of the U.S. Men’s hockey team have confirmed they will attend the State of the Union in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday night.
According to a post on Trump and the White House social media pages, the men's team visited the White House on Tuesday.
In an interview with "Good Morning America" on Tuesday morning, U.S. Men’s hockey star Jack Hughes -- who scored the team’s winning goal against Canada -- spoke about the women’s team alongside his brother and teammate Quinn Hughes.
"I know that there's been so much headlines about the women's hockey team and the video, but we hung out. We're in the cafeteria with them at 3:30 in the morning," he said of celebrating the team’s gold medals in Milan.
When asked about the women's team declining the State of the Union invitation, Quinn Hughes said, "I'm glad you mentioned the women's team again. You know, we're extremely happy for them."
He continued, "Obviously, a lot going on social media right now surrounding our team and their team, but you know, in the last couple summers, we did a lot of training with them and uh got to know a lot of those girls really well."
Expert talks sports as a 'space of exclusion'
Jessica Luther, journalist and co-host of the "Burn It All Down" podcast, who focuses on the intersection of "sports and gendered violence,” was among those who spoke out on social media about the team’s reaction on the phone call with Trump, describing it as "painful."
Luther told ABC News on Tuesday that sport has historically been a “space of exclusion” for women, among others.
"You watch them laugh at the women, and you're like, 'Oh, here we go again. And this was, what, the most watched women's hockey game ever in the history of the sport?" she said. "So they're having this, like, historic, major moment, and it's like the undercutting of that, the laughing at them, feels so predictable, feels so familiar."
Luther said women tend to experience sports as a place, "in which they have to sort of throw elbows.” She also pointed out the men’s team reaction may have seemed, for many, as an example of "locker room talk" as "shorthand for such misogynistic language."
"Why is that such easy code? We don't need any explanation, and it's an easy thing to hide behind, because there's a sort of, 'Of course, there's misogyny in a locker room. This is just how men talk in those spaces,'" she said.
