US women’s hockey captain Hilary Knight publicly criticized a joke made by former President Donald Trump following the US men’s and women’s Olympic hockey teams’ gold medal wins at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Trump, speaking on a phone call to the men’s team after their victory over Canada on Sunday, suggested he would have been impeached had he not also invited the women’s team to the State of the Union address.
Knight, a five-time Olympic medalist and the most decorated American hockey player of all time, described Trump’s remark as “distasteful” in an appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter on Wednesday. She expressed concern that the controversy was overshadowing the achievements of the women’s team, who also defeated Canada to win gold.
“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,” Knight said. “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.”
The comment and a video capturing the reaction of several men’s team players – appearing to laugh at Trump’s remark – quickly drew criticism online. Jack Hughes, who scored the winning goal in the men’s overtime victory, attempted to address the backlash on Tuesday, stating, “People are so negative about things. I think everyone in that locker room knows how much we support [the women’s team], how proud we are of them. The same way we sense about them, they feel about us.”
Jeremy Swayman, the US goaltender, later told reporters that the men’s team “should’ve reacted differently” to Trump’s comments, emphasizing their respect for the women’s team. Kelly Pannek, a two-time gold medalist who recorded two assists in the women’s gold medal game, acknowledged the support from the men’s team throughout the tournament, but also noted that Trump’s comments were not entirely surprising. “I don’t know why we’d expect differently,” she said.
Twenty members of the US men’s hockey team attended the State of the Union address on Tuesday, following their first Olympic gold medal win since 1980. The US women’s team declined an invitation to attend, citing “timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.” During his speech, Trump stated that the women’s team would visit the Oval Office “soon,” though USA Hockey has not yet confirmed any plans for such a visit.
Knight, 36, indicated that the Milano Cortina Olympics would be her last, capping a career that includes a record 15 Olympic goals and 33 total Olympic points for an American hockey player. She also suggested the incident offered an opportunity to re-evaluate how women’s achievements are discussed. “I think this is a really good learning point to focus on how we talk about women, not only in sport but in industry,” she said. “Women aren’t less than. Our achievements shouldn’t be overshadowed by anything else other than how great they are.”
