What was supposed to be a unifying moment for sports and for the United States of America has turned into yet another political sideshow. And the ones cauhg in the middle are the stars of the USA women’s hockey team.
Before the men’s team defeated Canada to win their first gold medal in 46 years in an epic overtime finish, the women’s team had done the same thing. In fact, their victory may have been even more dramatic.
The USA women dominated the Olympic hockey tournament. Entering the gold medal game against Canada, they had been one of the most consistently impressive performers in the entirety of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, outscoring the opposition by a combined 31-1 throughout the tournament.
However, in their gold medal game, the USA women’s hockey team found themselves trailing longtime rival Canada 1-0. That’s when captain Hilary Knight stepped forward to tie the game with just over two minutes left before Megan Keller won it with a sensational gold medal winning goal in overtime.
It was a sensational moment. And when Jack Hughes also gave the men’s team gold in overtime, it should have been universally celebrated as one of the most inspirational weeks in the history of Americans competing in international sport.
However, it all began to go downhill after FBI director Kash Patel crashed the men’s locker room after they won gold to pound beers and wear a gold medal like he was part of the team. After getting Donald Trump on the phone, the president then invited the USA men’s team to the upcoming State of the Union address. However, he couldn’t let the moment pass without getting a joke in at the expense of the women’s team, saying they would have to get an invite too so he wouldn’t be impeached.
Both the joke and the laughter that followed have cast a shadow over what should be a celebration. Instead, it has served as yet another divisive moment in American life. And while the men’s team was showered with praise in Washington DC, with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck even being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the women’s team went back to their daily lives.
The USA women turned down a State of the Union appearance after the controversy, citing academic and professional responsibilities. Of course, it’s fair to wonder if the locker room scene hadn’t gone down if it could have all been so different.
So now in the week that has followed their accomplishment, the stars of the USA women’s hockey team have been forced to answer to a controversy not of their own making. And as they return to their professional and college teams, they now have to talk about Donald Trump and their relationship with their male counterparts instead of celebrating their own achievements and advancing women’s hockey.
Team USA captain Hilary Knight appeared on SportsCenter and said that Trump’s joke and the locker room episode had overshadowed their gold medal victory.
“Yea, I thought it was sort of a distasteful joke, and unfortunately that is overshadowing a lot of the success,” Knight said. “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 again had to address it at a press conference with the PWHL’s Seattle Torrent, saying that she now has to sit in front of the press and explain someone else’s behavior, as the room erupted in cheers. She also lifted up her fellow female athletes and said that nothing should outshine what they achieved on the world stage.
Kelly Pannek of the Minnesota Frost had to answer questions about whether or not they actually felt support from the men’s team. While she spoke highly of their relationship, she also said “the video is what it is.”
Multiple Team USA players returned to the University of Wisconsin. Caroline Harvey said the players had to move forward while Laila Edwards stated that she wouldn’t let anything take away from their triumph in Milan.
It’s an absolute shame that any of this has to happen, especially in 2026 when women’s sports has seen incredible growth across the board in this country. Women’s sports is now a billion dollar industry. Everything from the WNBA to collegiate softball is setting record ratings. More networks than ever are investing in women’s sports and ESPN is even replacing their longtime Sunday Night Baseball franchise with a new women’s sports showcase.
After winning a gold medal in Italy and doing so in historic fashion, the stars of the USA women’s hockey team should be joining the likes of Caitlin Clark and Trinity Rodman as household names and celebrated for their athletic accomplishments and inspiring the next generation of female athletes. Instead, they have been time warped to a regressive time when women’s sports were seen as a punchline.
Many of the men’s hockey stars have tried to do their part in giving the women their due, specifically both Jack and Quinn Hughes. But while that should be applauded, it’s also a sign of just how much the women’s team got the short end of the political and cultural stick. And the fact that it has taken something that should have been the ultimate unifying force and turned it into another political dumpster fire is yet another cruel joke.
A total of 41 PWHL players won medals in Milan, yet today the conversation is not about the bright future of women’s professional hockey. It’s about the stars of the USA women’s hockey team again having to defend their place in the sports world and in society as a whole. The men’s team winning a gold medal sadly isn’t the only thing that makes it feel like we are living in 1980 all over again.
About Matt Yoder