On Sunday morning, the United States men’s hockey team secured its first Olympic gold medal in over 40 years with a 2-1 win over Canada. In the aftermath of the victory, United States President Donald Trump called into the locker room to speak with the players, a moment that has since stirred controversy. Still, Dave Portnoy, the founder of Barstool Sports, does not believe Trump deserves the backlash.
As the men’s team celebrated its gold medal in the locker room, Trump got on the phone to congratulate the players and extend an invitation to attend the State of the Union address on Tuesday evening.
“We’re giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. I can send a military plane or something. If you would like to… It’s the coolest night, it’s the biggest speech,” Trump said after the game in a video shared on social media.
However, Trump faced significant criticism for how he referenced the women’s hockey team, which also captured gold. During the call, he joked that he would “have to” invite the women’s team as well, suggesting they were more of an afterthought than an equal accomplishment.
“I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that?” Trump told the team.
“I do believe I probably would be impeached,” he joked.
Although the video sparked outrage from some, Portnoy did not think the outrage was justified.
“Anybody who is mad about this video has a dump in their pants. Talking to the President after winning Gold is as American as Apple Pie. Hockey twitter stays the softest group of crybabies who ever existed,” Portnoy wrote in a post on X.
Needless to say, Portnoy’s opinion defending Trump led to a lot of reactions on social media.
“Laughing at the women’s team makes me mad. Totally cool to get a congrats call from the president after winning the gold. But do not disrespect your fellow Team USA athletes,” one person wrote in a post on X.
“Him calling is completely normal. This is the biggest moment for USA hockey in over 40 yrs. The problem is the comments about the Women’s team. Girls have to work 2x as hard to be accepted in hockey. On coed teams they dress in broom closets. Their medals are equal to the mens,” someone else wrote.
“I love this! But to be fair, the women’s team also won Gold for hockey. It would be nice to see both teams together. Hockey ain’t easy,” another fan added.
“Dude, I’ve seen you run. You have no room to talk about a dump in anyone’s pants when you run like you’re holding a day’s worth of turds in your diaper. And just fyi, the issue isn’t talking with the president—it’s the lame jokes about women,” someone else told Portnoy.
“We’re not mad about them talking to POTUS. We’re mad at the weird jab at the women. And you know this but you like to play dumb—at least until it benefits you,” another person wrote.
While Portnoy has frequently voiced support for Trump in the past, it’s worth noting that he has also not hesitated to criticize him when he felt it was necessary.
About Dave Kelsey
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